


Poof!

by Power9987



Category: DBZ - Fandom, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z
Genre: Brotherly Love, Dragon Ball Z - Freeform, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Goten POV, No DB Super, Post-Series, Pre-28th WMAT, Uncle-Niece Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-02 03:54:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10209059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Power9987/pseuds/Power9987
Summary: The 28th Tenkaichi Budokai is coming up, and after many years of not competing, Goku decides to enter. His motives for entering are however unclear until he meets a boy there with an unnatural amount of strength. One ten minute battle later and poof! He's gone. Alternate ending to DBZ told from Goten's POV. Five-shot.





	1. A Tournament

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I recently became a part of AO3 and I completely fell in love with it! After reading all of the stories on here and getting used to the new site, I decided to start posting some of my own work on here. 
> 
> Now this story is something that I really was passionate about writing. The reason being is that DBZ is my all-time favorite anime, but I absolutely HATED the conclusion, as well as the direction that DB Super is taking. There are so many reasons, which I will spare you the details of, but this story is basically a reaction to the end of DBZ. This story is how I believe the characters should have reacted to the end, as well as my personal view on how it could have continued.
> 
> This story is already finished, so it shouldn't take too long to post. It's also fairly short, only 5 chapters. I will post a new chapter every Friday and Monday from here on out until the conclusion. I hope you enjoy it!

~Mount Paoz, 439 Mountain District, Age 785~

“Oomph!”

I wince in pain as I take a nasty shot to the gut from my father. I quickly send him a glare before charging back at him, fists raised. I try my best to hit him, swinging as fast and as hard as I can, but much to my annoyance, he merely laughs and dodges all of my strikes expertly, not giving any ground at all. I growl as I see the grin on his face. I know he isn’t trying that hard, but he doesn’t have to mock me! At least when I sparred with Gohan he at least let me think he was trying, even though I could tell that he wasn’t. 

This is the scene that usually occurs though when I decide that I’m bored enough to train with my father. I know I haven’t really been training that much all of these years since Majin Buu, and that he trains at least ten hours a day, but that does nothing for my wounded pride. Desperately trying to wipe off that stupid grin of his, I fake a punch to the left and try again with a right hook, throwing as much of my strength as I can into that punch. 

Of course Dad sees it coming and blocks it with his forearm, that sickeningly happy grin still present on his face as he gives me another painful shot to the gut, this time in the form of a mule kick. *wince* Man you’d think I’d learn from my prior mistakes. He hit me in the exact same spot as before, and I can’t help but fall to my knees grunting in pain. As I try and catch my breath, my father looks on with a slight frown, and I internally sigh. Great. Now he’s going to give me a lecture of how I should be training harder, even though we haven’t had a threat in the last ten years. Probably the usual talk about ‘keeping in shape in times of peace’ or something along those lines. Of course though it will be in the nicest way possible too so I don’t get too mad. 

I further groan internally when I feel Vegeta’s and Bulma’s kis getting closer to our house. Fantastic, now I get to hear it from Vegeta too, and he’ll probably mock me further for slacking off. Although I do wonder why they are heading out here. I go over to Capsule Corps. plenty to hang out with Trunks, and Trunks comes out here when his schedule allows it, but Bulma and Vegeta haven’t been here in ages! My father stops talking (like I was really listening anyways) and looks in the sky towards the west, obviously sensing what I did. I can see that smile that my family is known for start to form in his lips. That grin of his never leaves his face as I get up from the ground and the jet copter the two are flying in makes its way into our view and then lands on the lawn. I smile a little, amused. How Bulma gets Vegeta to fly with her in that contraption I’ll never know.

“Hey Bulma! Vegeta!” Dad greets the duo, waving to them happily. Bulma however looks furious for reasons I don’t understand, and glares at my father. I internally wince. This is gonna be ugly. 

“‘Hey Bulma?!’ That’s all you have to say Goku?!” she shouts back, clearly outraged. For once I’m just as clueless as my dad as to what is going on, but knowing Bulma, I won’t have to wait long to find out what’s got her upset this time. “I haven’t seen you for five years Goku! Five years, and all you have to say is ‘Hey Bulma?!’” 

I look to my father, shocked at Bulma’s accusation. Has he really not been over to see Bulma for the past five years? Sure, he goes out training with Vegeta practically every day, and sometimes they go out for weekend long trips, but I figured that he had been visiting both of them since he always leaves home to train with Vegeta. I always assumed that he goes to Capsule Corps., but apparently I was wrong. Now I understand Bulma’s frustration completely. My dad my not be home a lot, but at least I get to see him every day unless he’s out on one of his weekend trips, and even then, those only last three days. With my dad’s past track record of getting into trouble, I wouldn’t be surprised if she had thought that he had died again since I know that Vegeta never likes to talk about his training.

Dad scratches the back of his head nervously and tries his best to look innocent. I can see Vegeta rolling his eyes and I smile. I’m not the only one who can see through my father’s innocent campaign. “Has it really been five years Bulma? Gosh I’m sorry, but I’ve been super busy.”

This time I roll my eyes. Yeah, busy alright. Busy training. I can tell that Bulma is thinking the same thing, as her face doesn’t seem to calm at all at my dad’s explanation. “Really Goku?” she retorts. “You’re so busy training that you can’t even bother to call every once in a while? Every time I call Chichi you’re always out training!”

Vegeta scoffs. “For crying out loud woman, he obviously is trying to keep up his strength for the next threat, which will no doubt inevitably happen.” I blink, genuinely surprised. Vegeta just defended my father, something I thought he never would do in his life. But not only that, he defended him for not visiting his wife for the past five years. Before I’m able to process this further though he looks my way and scowls, which confuses me. “Unlike this pathetic excuse of a warrior who’d much rather go to concerts and parties and influence my son to do the same. I’d hate to see what would happen to this planet if something were to happen to Kakarot or me.”

I roll my eyes again, used to Vegeta’s banter by now. Bulma however glares heatedly at her husband. I know she doesn’t like the fact that he insulted me for ‘being a normal teenager’ as she had once said. I would have to agree with her on that. Dad however speaks up before either of us can. “Woah Vegeta, calm down!” he frantically states, trying to placate the saiyan prince, a feat not very easily accomplished I may add. “I agree that our sons could train more, but you and I both know how easy it is to slack off in times of peace.” I sigh. That doesn’t really help much, but that’s about as much as a defense as I’ll get from my father. 

Before the argument is able to escalate further, I feel another ki heading our way at a pretty quick pace. I smirk, realizing that Trunks is on his way over. Yes! Now I won’t be alone in the torture! As he lands, I walk over to him and give him a fist bump. “S’up Trunks?”

“What’s up Goten,” He replies to me and then notices my father and his parents there too. “Hey Goku, long time no see. And hey Mom and Dad. I didn’t expect you guys to be here.”

I can see Bulma scowl, clearly still upset by the reason she had to come here in the first place. Unlike us who can fly using our ki, or my dad who can use instant transmission to get anywhere in a blink of an eye, Bulma has to fly in a jet copter, and while her copters are clearly top of the line, it’s still a three hour ride from West City to here. It must be quite a hassle to get here, one of the reasons why she almost never comes over. “Well son, I wouldn’t have had to fly all the way over here if Goku would stop by more often than once every five years!”

Much like I reacted earlier, Trunks looks at Goku surprised. He probably is trying to think of any times Dad has come to Capsule Corps recently. “Has it really been that long?” he asks, astonished. 

However, before anyone can answer his inquiry, Vegeta once again cuts off the conversation with a growl. “Enough of this petty argument! The only reason I even agreed to go with you woman was to ask Kakarot a question.” He turns his attention to my father. “Now is it true that you plan on entering that pathetic excuse of a tournament tomorrow?”

Dad puts on his classic grin, and I can’t help but groan. Oh yeah the tournament. I forgot that’s why I was out here training with Dad in the first place. Back when I was younger, I loved martial arts. I even was able to beat Trunks in the Junior Division of the 26th Tenkaichi Budokai and get my revenge from three years prior when he beat me. And I still do enjoy martial arts to a certain extent. I love sparring with Trunks, or Gohan when he’s available. Heck, I’ve even become a sensei to my young niece, as Gohan and Videl finally let her start training.

I only really like martial arts as a sport though. Both Gohan and Trunks are the same way. They enjoy the occasional spar and both the physical and mental challenge that comes with trying to defeat your opponent. My father and Vegeta are different though. I do martial arts as an athlete. They both do them as warriors. The way they spar is completely different. They train constantly, as if they were going to war, and their spars are absolutely brutal. After a spar with my brother or best friend, I’ll most likely end up with a few bruises and cuts, but those are really the extent of my injuries. After a spar with Vegeta or my dad however, I’m pretty much guaranteed to be bleeding all over with a few broken ribs and internal injuries that require the healing power of a regeneration tank that I’m thankful Bulma and her father were able to create. 

That’s why I was surprised when Dad told me that he was entering the next Budokai. He’s a warrior, and I don’t know what kind of entertainment he would get from beating a bunch of normal humans at a tournament. I figured that’s why he told me to enter too, so he could have someone that can give him at least a little bit of a challenge. Getting back to conversation going on around me, I look and see that Dad obviously told Vegeta that he was and I can see Vegeta looking at my father with a calculating expression, probably wondering the same thing I am. He still hasn’t told me exactly why he’s entering, or why I have to enter. 

“Why are you entering this tournament Kakarot?” He asks, much like I predicted. 

Dad grins, and I wonder if he’s actually going to reveal his true reason for going to the tournament. I listen intently for my father’s answer. “I’m entering because I know another warrior that is entering as well, and he’s incredibly strong.”

“Peh, I’d hardly call your youngest brat incredibly strong,” Vegeta mocks, and while I detest how Vegeta said it, I silently agree with him that I wouldn’t be able to beat my father. At least not in the shape I’m in at the moment. He must be talking about someone else, and that really makes me curious. I know he’s not talking about Gohan or Vegeta, and those are the only two that really stand a chance against Dad, so who else could it be?

“Wait, you’re entering too Goten?” Trunks asks me, and I nod sadly. To tell the truth I really didn’t want to enter. Dad had practically forced me to enter, even though I had a date that night! It was with the perfect girl too! Her name is Valese and she is a very attractive brunette with these really dark brown eyes. I’d had a crush on her for the past few months, but she has always had a boyfriend every time I’ve wanted to ask her out. That was until last week when she finally was single. I pounced on the opportunity and she had agreed to go out with me. But then Dad told me that I was entering the tournament so I could refine my skills and I was forced to cancel on Valese. 

Boy did she not take that well, and let’s just say that I was single again before I even got the chance to have a girlfriend. 

Trunks of course knew all about my date with Valese, and had the decency to not make fun of me in front of his parents and my dad. I silently thank him for that. Eventually though, the conversation goes back to my father as he (hopefully) elaborates what he means. “No Vegeta, while Goten is strong, I’m not talking about him. This person’s not actually in our group yet, but he definitely is powerful, maybe even stronger than me!”

I can’t help but gape at my dad’s clarification. Did he really say that this mystery person could be stronger than him? What is he talking about? The only people on this planet that come close to him are all within our group of close friends. Who could Dad possibly be talking about? He obviously believes what he’s saying as he sounded very excited when he said that, more excited than I have heard him... well ever. I look around to gauge everyone else’s reactions and they are all equally surprised at Dad’s declaration. And I can’t help but focus on his wording. He said that this person wasn’t in our group _yet_. Is he trying to recruit a new warrior or something?

Before anyone can ask him to elaborate any further however, we are once again interrupted by yet another person’s ki, approaching at a modest pace, but this time I can’t help but smile. I’d recognize that ki anywhere. I look in the direction of the ki and see a tiny spark of white that grows bigger and bigger until I can make out a figure, which eventually turns into the form of a little girl. The girl lands in front of me and grins a one thousand watt smile, one that I can’t help but return. 

“Uncle Goten, did you see how fast I flew around the world?” She excitedly chips, clearly proud of herself. I must say that I’m proud of her too. 

“I sure did Pan,” I answer enthusiastically, ruffling her short black hair affectionately. This gesture causes her to giggle, and grin wider if possible. “That must have been a new record for you!”

My niece nods vehemently, and I can’t help but chuckle. She is so insanely adorable, especially when excited, and I have a very hard time resisting the urge to take the girl in my arms and not let go. “Why don’t you go tell Grandpa Goku about it? I’m sure he’d like to know.” 

“Yeah!” she agrees and then runs right over to Dad. My niece and Dad are incredibly close, and if there’s one thing about Dad that I love, it’s how great he is with Pan. Every time he’s not training or eating he’s spending time with his granddaughter. He might not make much time for me or Mom, but when it comes to Pan, he treats her very lovingly. And Pan loves him right back. She can’t seem to get enough of ‘Grandpa Goku’ whenever she comes over to visit, which is pretty much every day. 

“Grandpa!” She cheers, flying into his arms… literally. He thankfully catches her and listens to what she has to tell him. “I just flew around the world in about two hours!”

Dad grins back at her. “Really Pan? That’s amazing! You are getting faster every day!”

My cute niece nods back at Dad. “Do you think I’m ready for the tournament tomorrow Grandpa?”

I can tell that both Bulma and Vegeta are shocked at that announcement by Pan, as is Trunks. I know I was too when I found out that my four year old niece was entering the tournament. I was more surprised that Gohan let his ‘precious little angel’ enter a martial arts tournament than the fact that she’s only four and entering a martial arts tournament to begin with, but I think Videl might have coerced him. How, I don’t know… and probably don’t want to know. 

I almost laugh out loud when Trunks states his disbelief out loud. “No way! Are you really entering the tournament Pan?”

She jumps out of Dad’s arms and runs over to my best friend, a look of disbelief on her face. “Of course I am! What, do you think I can’t do it?”

This time I do laugh as Trunks stumbles over his words, trying to think of something to say. “O-of course you can do it Pan,” he tries to placate her, not wanting to upset the adorable little girl. “I-I just thought you’d wait until the next one.”

My niece shakes her head stubbornly. “Nu Uh! Grandpa said that I could enter this one, and said that I could get pretty far too!”

After seemingly been stunned silent, Bulma finally speaks her opinion. “But Goku, there’s no Junior Division this year! You mean to tell me that Pan is going to fight the adults?”

Pan, much to my amusement nods vigorously, and Dad walks over to her and places a hand on her head. “I wouldn’t worry too much about Pan you guys. She can handle herself.”

I silently agree with my Dad. Pan may be only four, but she has saiyan blood, and she is already stronger than everybody on the planet outside of the Z-gang, including her ‘grandpa Hercule.’ And as her sensei, I know that despite her age, she is incredibly talented and has great instincts when it comes to both fighting form and ki control, both traits she inherited form both of her parents. She really should have no problem qualifying and then beating anyone besides one of us. I actually look forward to seeing the reactions of everyone when this cute little girl who is probably the least intimidating person on the planet makes the tournament, and I almost chuckle out loud at the thought of the reactions of both the crowd and her opponent when she beats them. 

Maybe this tournament won’t be that bad after all. 

I’m brought out of my amusing thoughts by Vegeta, who is actually showing a rare smile on his face, and I can’t help but grin. There are only two people in the universe that can evoke such a reaction on the prince of all saiyans: my niece and his young daughter Bra. Both girls have Vegeta wrapped around their pinkies and can get him to do basically anything they want, something that never fails to impress and amuse me. Who knew that the secret weapon against the arrogant prince was a little girl? “Now that’s the spirit of a true warrior! If what you say is true Kakarot then I’m going to enter! I’ll prove to you that I’m superior to both this mystery warrior and you!”

My face pales at Vegeta’s statement. He’s entering too? Well great, now I have to worry about facing both him _and_ my dad. My chances of at least making it to the finals just got a lot thinner, and now I have to worry about another unnecessarily brutal fight. Those fights are never that fun, even though I get the chance to go all out. The only chance I’ll get to have any real fun is if I end up fighting Pan, and even then I don’t really want to hurt her too badly. Perhaps I can get Gohan to join, but that’s probably already a lost cause. He doesn’t like attention and he likes staying undercover so he doesn’t get recognized by any of his students at the university. That leaves my only option as Trunks, but he probably won’t wanna join either. It doesn’t hurt to ask though. 

As I formulate my plan on getting Trunks to join, my Dad reacts to Vegeta’s commitment to the tournament. He grins, and I suspect that he expected to get Vegeta to join the tournament by telling him about this mystery warrior. Perhaps there is no mystery warrior at all and this was just my dad’s way of persuading Vegeta to join the tournament. But then I dismiss that thought, thinking back to how excited he sounded talking about this guy. Not even Dad can fake that much excitement. “That’s great Vegeta!” he replies happily, probably very glad that he will get the chance to fight his rival in the ring. “Trunks, you should enter too!” he adds, much to my surprised delight. My dad just did my job for me. 

Trunks looks as if he wants to protest, but before he can voice his opinion, he is cut off by Vegeta. “Great idea Kakarot! Trunks, you’re joining too, or you allowance will be cut in half.”

I grin widely at that while Trunks pales, speechless as to how he even got into this situation. Finally he finds his voice and immediately protests. “You can’t do that!” he shouts incredulously, and much to my continued entertainment, he turns to his mother, and I can already tell what he’s going to do next, making me chuckle to myself. “Mom, you can’t let him do that!”

Bulma huffs in exasperation, probably at her eighteen year old son’s childish behavior. “Oh hush Trunks, just enter the tournament. Goten’s entering too so you can keep him company,” she adds, giving me a wink. I knew there was a reason why I love Trunks’ mom. My best friend however groans and I throw my arm around him and grin. 

“What’s the matter Trunks?” I ask playfully. “Are you afraid that you’ll lose to Pan?”

He glares at me and throws my arm off of him while everyone else laughs, even Vegeta! Wow, that’s the first time that I’ve made him laugh in my life. Pan runs over to Trunks and grins up at him. “Yeah, I bet I could beat you Trunks,” she adds, causing me to start laughing all over again. While I continue to laugh, Trunks smirks and kneels down to my niece’s level.

“Just so you know Pan, if I fight you, I’m not going to go easy on you,” he states, causing my adorable niece to pout cutely. 

“I’ll still beat you Trunks,” she mumbles, looking at the ground, but she doesn’t sound nearly as confident as before. At this, I try and reduce my laughter and also kneel down to my niece. I put an arm around her, pulling her into a one armed hug. 

“You most certainly can Pan!” I encourage her, looking down at her giving her what I hope is a confident look. “I know you’re definitely strong enough to put up a good fight. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if you were able to beat either of us.” I look up at Trunks and give him a look that basically says ‘don’t you deny this or else’ before my niece grabs my attention again by pulling on my shoulder length hair. She looks up to me with my brother’s wide, onyx eyes. 

“Do you really think I’m that strong Uncle Goten?” she asks me, eyes disbelieving, but hopeful that I agree. And can’t help but smile softly and tighten my grip on her a little.

“Of course I do Panny! You’re very strong and incredibly talented. I believe in you.” I truly believe it too. She may have more natural talent than either my brother or I had when we were her age. It really would be no surprise if she were to catch either Trunks or me off guard during a match and knock one of us out of the ring. 

I know I said the right thing as Pan grins up at me happily before throwing her arms around me in a hug. I quickly wrap my other arm around her and return the hug, not caring that everyone else is watching me. I feel relieved that she doesn’t seem upset anymore. I truly adore my niece, probably more than anyone other than my older brother. I hate to see her even a little bit upset and do everything in my power to make her smile again when she is. 

I’ll admit that I see Pan more as a little sister rather than a niece. It sounds weird, I know, but I can’t help it. My dad was dead for the first seven years of my life, so I didn’t have my father too look up to. Thankfully though, I had an amazing big brother that took over my dad’s role in my life and basically raised me as his own son. Even after Dad was brought back to life with Old Kai’s sacrifice to fight Buu, Gohan was still the one that I looked up to as I would my father. While alive, Dad still wasn’t around much, always off training like I mentioned earlier, but Gohan was always around for me even though he had school and had just started dating Videl. 

Even now that he’s married and moved out he still is there for me. I have my own room in his house and he lets me come and go as I wish, and let me say that I spend the majority of my time over there when I’m not at school, hanging out with Trunks and our other friends, or working my part time job at Mr. Satan’s dojo. He said that he moved right next door to us because he loved the area, but Videl had told me once when he wasn’t around that he had convinced her to move there so I could come to him whenever I needed him or just wanted visit him. I will always love my brother for everything he’s done for me over the years, especially since he wasn’t truly obligated to do any of it. 

And Videl is just as awesome as my brother. Ever since I’ve known her she’s always been like an older sister to me. She always was willing to help me out and play with me while Mom made Gohan study (something I still don’t understand since Big Brother already knew everything they were teaching before I was even born). And she never once complained when Gohan declined a date with her because he had to watch me or when he brought me along with them to places, even when they first started dating. That is something I find incredible as I know most girls would get frustrated after a while of that, but not Videl. I think she understood the bond that Gohan and I had and respected that bond. Even these days, now that I’m practically an adult myself, she still respects that bond and is just as inviting as Gohan when it comes to their home. 

So really, knowing all of this, it comes as no surprise that I see their daughter as more of a sister than what she actually is. I see my brother as a dad and Videl as practically a third mother (as I also see Bulma in a similar light). Pan brings me out of my thoughts by pulling away and giving me a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you Uncle Goten! You’re the best!”

I return her gesture and give her a peck on the cheek as well. “You’re welcome Panny. I love you sweetie.”

She giggles and wraps her arms around my neck in another hug, resting her head on my shoulder as I hold her close. “I love you too Uncle Goten,” she replies and I smile. I couldn’t honestly care less that everyone if staring at me or that I will be the subject of much teasing after all of this is over. I will never be ashamed of my relationship with my niece. At the moment I am content, glad that I can do for Pan what her father has done for me my whole life. I tend to be rather protective when it comes to Pan, and I really don’t want to ever see her get hurt. One thing’s for sure though:

If she ever does get hurt, the perpetrator will feel my wrath, no matter who they are.


	2. Ten Minute Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 28th Tenkaichi Budokai starts. Goten finally figures out why Goku was so excited for the tournament this year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize to everyone who has been reading this so far. I know I said I'd post every Monday and Friday, but this week has been pretty hectic in my life. I'm starting a new job next week and its halfway across my home state, so I've been traveling all over to find an apartment before my start date. Thankfully that's now taken care of, so there shouldn't be any more delays. I will also post the next chapter tomorrow since it will be Friday. 
> 
> Enjoy!

~Fighter’s lounge, Main Arena, Tenkaichi Budokai Grounds, Papaya Island, Age 785~

I can’t believe it! 

A mere ten minutes ago, Dad had been in the ring fighting this kid with a mohawk named Uub, and actually having a good fight. Apparently the kid is the evil version of Buu reincarnated into a human and made good. This explains why my dad was so excited to fight him. But it was obvious that Uub had no real training, as Dad had to rile him up to get him to unleash his power. They were fighting for a few minutes until it looked as if Uub had fallen out of the ring, only for my dad to reach down and save him from a ring out. 

A mere five minutes ago, dad was talking to this kid and telling him he had so much potential, and that he could be an incredible fighter with the right trainer. 

A mere four minutes ago, Dad had made a decision to take this random kid that he literally just met in that match under his wing, and not only train him, but _live with him_ , flying up to the balcony that everyone that wasn’t competing was watching from and giving them a very brief explanation of what he’s doing. 

And it was a mere three minutes ago that Pan had tearfully run up to him and pleaded and begged him not to go. Dad had held her and put on a smile, telling her that he would visit whenever he could. My niece had conceded, believing him and believing that he will visit, but I could tell that he was just trying to placate her. I could only stare blankly at the man, my incredibly adorable niece’s sobs drowning his quick goodbye to all of us competing. 

And then a mere two minutes ago…

Poof!

He was gone.

Flying away to live with a kid he had just met. 

I _seriously_ can’t believe it!

To be honest with myself, I’m not really shocked at the way my father left. From what Gohan had told me and from my own personal experiences with the man, he doesn’t seem to be the type of person that would stick around too long, especially in times of peace. He’s always looking for the next challenge, the next adventure. I guess he found it in Uub. But what I seriously can’t believe is that he could choose fighting over his family… over Pan.

As soon as he was gone I quickly made my way to Pan and tried to calm her down. She was incredibly upset by my father’s spontaneous departure, and honestly I couldn’t blame her. He had never not been around for her before when she wanted him to. Not like how he wasn’t around for my brother or me. 

However, my four year old niece doesn’t understand this. To her, he’s the doting grandfather that is really fun to be with and very caring and loving towards her. To her, he would never leave just like that, and to see him do just that must have crushed her. Normally I’m able to calm her down rather quickly, but she is still crying in my arms, even now two minutes after he left. As I continue to cuddle and sooth my niece–my incredibly cute, loving, and trusting niece who I see as a sister–I start to get angry. Angry at my father, that he would do something like this to her.

That he would hurt her.

I briefly look up at my brother in the balcony that his father-in-law had gotten our family, and I see that he’s currently occupied consoling our mother. I can’t imagine what she must be thinking. Her husband had left again, which isn't unusual for him. However, before all of this happened, he had seemed like he was here to stay for good for his third chance at life. It must have felt like nothing short of betrayal to her that he left again, gone to live with a boy he had just met for Dende knows how long. I suddenly feel my rage spike again. 

He hurt Mom too. 

As if he sensed my gaze, Gohan looks straight at me. His eyes show an incredible amount of concern as he looks at me holding and comforting his daughter, but I could see an underlying rage there as well. He’s pissed, and far more pissed than I’ve ever seen him before. But he’s hiding it for now, trying to once again pick up the pieces after the devastation that our father’s departure caused everyone. I suddenly empathize with my brother. I really can’t imagine what he’s thinking after this. After seeing his father abandon his daughter just like he had abandoned him when he was Pan’s age. 

I can honestly say that I’m rather indifferent towards Dad’s departure on a personal level. To me, he never really was around much to begin with, Gohan really being more of a father to me than he was. Am I disappointed that I won’t see him again? Sure. But his departure doesn’t really affect me that much. To me, I still have my dad around. 

But I know for a fact that Big Brother does truly love our father, and that he really was desperately hoping that he was going to stick around for good this time. I know he was thinking much like our mother. Unlike me, he is attached to Dad, and also unlike me, Goku leaving him alone with Mom isn’t new to him. But I believe he truly thought that our father was going to stay home permanently after the whole Buu debacle, going against his instinct that says that Dad wouldn’t. After all, Goku had been home for the last ten years, even if it was only for meals and nights most of the time. I don’t think Gohan would have let Pan get so attached to him either if he thought he was going to leave again. As I continue to look into Gohan’s eyes, I can tell that he’s incredibly hurt as well, but he’s holding it all back, trying to be strong. 

He hurt Gohan. 

My big brother and father figure. 

My idol. 

That is the final straw for me. I never in a million years would I thought I’d see my brother hurt so much again. I remember when I was little and still shared a room with him that he would have nightmares about how our father died at the Cell games. He would have nightmares about how he could have prevented his death and he believed that our father blamed him for that, staying dead as a punishment. After these nightmares he would wake up in tears and I would pretend to be asleep so that he wouldn’t worry about me. 

Usually after these he would come over to me and sit on my bed, running a hand through my hair trying to calm himself down. And while I loved that gesture, I felt incredibly sad and horrible that the best person in the world, the one person that deserved eternal happiness for everything he’d been through, and the one person that I loved more than anyone felt so guilty and was so hurt. In these moments I wanted nothing more than to give him a big hug and comfort him like he always comforted me after a nightmare, but then he would realize that I was awake and saw him at his weakest, something I knew he wouldn’t want me to know. 

Looking at my brother now, I am reminded of those nights many years ago, and I feel the exact same way. I really want to go up there and help him but I also have to care for my niece. Right now my first priority is calming her down. It seems though that Gohan senses my distress as he quietly whispers to his wife. After a moment, she seems to nod in understanding to whatever he said and gently moves to take my mother from by brother’s arms. 

Gohan then looks at Pan and me, and quickly flies out of the window, not caring that the whole audience (who still is shocked at the seemingly random departure of two of the finalists) sees him flying down to us and can tell he knows how to use ki (1). He quickly makes his way over to us, and puts a hand on his daughters head. I smile gratefully at him. While I know that he wants nothing more than to take her from me and cuddle his daughter, he respects my want to do the same, knowing that I am the one person besides him or Videl that can actually calm her down when she’s truly distraught, which is very seldom. 

Pan however stiffens at the contact and turns to look who it is, and through her tears sees her daddy. Gohan gives her a small smile that only I can tell is forced, and opens his arms for her. She obliges to his unsaid request and jumps from my arms to his, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck and sobbing into his chest. He quickly wraps his arms around his daughter and buries his face into her hair, breathing in her scent. He had once told me that the reason he loves hugging Pan or me so much is that he draws a lot of comfort from the two of us, that we evoke a sense of peace within him. I can tell now that he is drawing as much comfort out of that embrace as he is giving her. 

“Shh. Panny it’s okay,” I can hear by brother trying his best to reassure his daughter. 

“No it’s not!” Pan sobs, face still buried in her father’s chest. The sight of her crying is heartbreaking, and the fact that not even Gohan seems to be able to placate her makes it ten times worse. “Grandpa left! He left with some other kid!” She then draws her face up so she’s looking Gohan in the eyes, her eyes still streaming with tears. “Why did he leave? Was it something I did? Was I not good enough for him?”

I felt as if I had been punched in the gut at Pan’s words. She thinks she’s at fault for Dad’s departure? 

She’s definitely her father’s daughter, even if she looks more like her mom. 

Gohan immediately denies her self-accusation. “No! Of course you were good enough Panny! You didn’t do anything wrong, sweetie. He didn’t leave because of anything you did or because he didn’t think you were good enough for him.”

She wipes her nose on the sleeve of her undershirt and sniffles. “Then why did Grandpa leave us?”

My brother lets out an exasperated sigh. He obviously is trying to figure that out himself. “I’m not sure Panny.” I know it hurts him to not be able to give his daughter a straight answer for once. I have a feeling he knows very well why our father left, but he just doesn’t want to tell Pan that he left because the life he was living just wasn’t exciting enough for him. 

Finally, it seems like Pan has stopped crying, but she still is obviously sad. She looks into her father’s eyes again, the onyx orbs still shiny with the remainder of her tears. “Will we ever see him again?”

There’s the question of the century.

In all honesty, I don’t think we will see him again… at least not anytime soon. And as I see Gohan struggle to come up with the answer to that question, my anger returns. I really hope that we don’t see him again. He has hurt the ones I love most: Mom, Gohan, and Pan. I know that he probably didn’t intend to hurt them, and that he never would hurt them physically outside of a spar, but I don’t give a crap about that. In my mind, he’s just as bad as any enemy we’ve faced. He’s a threat to the emotional wellbeing of my family. 

And if he ever shows his face around me again, he will pay dearly. 

He will feel my wrath. 

I don’t know how long I was in my very angering thoughts, but as I get back to reality, I can see Gohan looking at me intently while holding his now sleeping daughter, as if trying to read my mind. He looks at me incredibly concerned before his takes flight back to where he came from, and giving his daughter to her mother. I absentmindedly look to the arena and see that the tournament has resumed, seeing Trunks desperately trying to keep his opponent away from him. He is a big guy in a sailor suit that I’m convinced is trying to seduce my best friend rather than fight him. I briefly allow an amused smile to grace my face, finding Trunks’ situation very hilarious to watch.  

My smile however fades as Gohan makes his way back down here, this time taking a more subtle approach than flying out in front of the crowd. I can see that he’s concerned for me, something I don’t quite understand. I should be the one concerned for him. He’s the one who has the distraught daughter and he’s the one who lost his dad. He quickly draws me into an embrace, and I eagerly return it. I may be seventeen now, but I have always liked a good hug. Plus, this is Gohan. He's definitely a hugger, and really knows how to make it just right to help me relax. I instantly feel the effects of the hug. I can feel myself already starting to relax, my intense anger I was feeling before slipping away. How can one hug do that? It’s always been this way for me with Gohan, and I have never been more grateful for this fact than in this moment.

As we pull away from each other, Gohan rests his hands on my shoulders and gives them a reassuring squeeze while looking deep into my eyes. “Are you okay Goten?” he asks me, thinking that something is bothering me. I look right back at him, shocked. He’s probably hurting far worse than I am at this moment, yet he still is more worried about me than his own pain. Even after all of these years, it still amazes me how he can just bury his pain away in order to stay strong for me, even now that I’m practically an adult. He must have taken the delay in my response the wrong way because he looks even more concerned suddenly and wraps one of his arms around my shoulder. “I’m sorry for this Goten,” he tells me. It's as if he's trying to apologize for our father. He must have concluded that I’m taking his spontaneous departure rather hard. 

I’m quick to ease his burden though by wrapping one of my arms around him in return and looking straight into his eyes. “I’m okay Gohan,” I tell him, not wanting him to have the extra burden of trying to care of me now for one extra second. I know my brother well. He would do anything in his power to try and make me feel better if I were to be upset in anyway, and I know he would not stop until he knew I was alright. But while this trait of his is endearing, it’s also hard for me to watch my brother hurt so much, yet ignore it. I sigh, thinking of how I can convince him that I really am okay while trying to hold back the anger directed towards my father. 

And then it hits me. 

“Gohan, I’m really alright,” I stress when he gives me a look that he doesn’t really believe me. I try to make my point by looking to him and smiling. “To be honest I don’t think I’m going to miss him much. He never was really around to begin with, not like you were.”

I continue to look at my brother and I see a surprised expression cross his face. “What are you saying Goten?” he asks me. Gohan’s a genius, so I believe he knows what I implied in my last remark, but he probably doesn’t believe it. Even after all of these years, I’ve never really told him that I considered him to be my dad rather than our actual father, at least not since Goku came back. He probably thought that back in the day when I was really little I only believed him to be my dad because he was the only male role model I had for the first seven years of my life, and that made him my dad by default or something along those lines. My brother has always been good at putting himself down in his head, a trait that I will continue to try and erase from his mind.  

I pull out of our one armed embrace and turn so that I’m facing him. I made sure I look directly into his disbelieving, yet hopeful eyes, making me all the more sure of myself. It’s completely obvious that he sees me as one of his own, and that he’s desperate for me to confirm that I feel the same way, so I waste no time in doing just that. “Gohan, our father was dead for the first seven years of my life, and then when he came back, he was always off training with Vegeta. You however have never been absent a single day in my life, and have looked after me like a father should. I guess I’ve never really told you how much that meant to me, but I think you should know that the reason Goku’s decision to leave us doesn’t really hurt me that much… is because he wasn’t really my dad… You were, and still are really.”

After I finish, I smile at Gohan. I look at his expression to gauge his reaction to my words and I can tell he’s stunned by what I’ve told him. However, comprehension seems to dawn on him and a second later, he grins widely at me and pulls me into another hug. This time, I can feel that he’s extremely happy, and that makes me feel a bit better. At least I was able to make him feel better for a few moments at least, and now he knows just how much he means to me. 

“Thank you Goten!” he whispers hoarsely, and I can tell he is truly touched my confession. “You really don’t know how much that means to me.” He gives me a good indication of how much though if this hug is anything to go by. As we pull away, he looks me dead in the eye and that look he had before returns. “And I will continue to be there for you Goten. I promise that I will never do what Dad just did, because I have you and Pan to look out for. As long as I have you two, Videl, Mom, and the others, I will always be content with my life.”

I listen to my brother and nod, truly believing his words. He is the one person I can always count on and I probably trust him more than anyone in my life. “I know that Gohan,” I answer, wanting him to know that believe his words.  “But thank you anyways.” Eventually, my anger fades for the moment and I’m content to just watch Trunks as he finally punches the guy out of the ring when he leaned in for a kiss. I laugh at what was a very entertaining match… well entertaining in the form of comedy. I smile as I hear Gohan laughing beside me, and my burden is lifted a little more. At least he’s alright for the moment too. 

As soon as Trunks comes into the Fighter’s Lounge, both my brother and I give him a mock round of applause and he scowls at us, turning his back to us in a gesture that screams Vegeta. This causes Gohan and me to laugh even more at Trunks’ attitude. Was it just me or did I see a blush on his face before he turned his back to us? Eventually, Gohan gives me a pat on the shoulder and returns to the balcony where he came. 

A few minutes later he comes back, holding Pan and trying to wake her up. This confuses me for a moment before I realize that she is still in the tournament and that I fight her in the next round (2). As soon as she wakes up, she starts tearing up again in remembrance of the events that just happened before Gohan is able to comfort her once more. As I watch her struggle to control herself again, I decide that I’ll let her beat me in the next round. Of course I’ll have to look like I’m giving it my all, but that shouldn’t be that hard. She needs a pick-me-up after Goku’s departure, and I will do anything to make her smile again, even lose to a four year old girl in front of an international audience. At least the fact that she’s Hercule’s granddaughter will make it less embarrassing to the crowd. 

It seems as if Gohan has succeeded in calming Pan down and I see her run over to Trunks to congratulate him on his victory. I smile at the scene as Trunks lets his softer side show and dotes on the little girl. I take this opportunity to go over to my brother and ask him something before he heads back to the stands.

Gohan senses my approach and stops his departure to look at me, this time purely curious. “What’s up Goten?” he asks me as I approach. 

“Gohan, I want you to train me again.” I state, causing him to raise his eyebrows in confusion at me. I can tell he doesn’t understand my request, so I elaborate for him. “I want you to train me so that when Dad comes back I can give him a fight that will be worth sticking around for.”

This shocks my brother, and I’m not sure what shocks him more: what I actually said or how I said it with so much animosity. “What do you mean Goten?” He asks, clearly trying to figure out my sudden request. Personally, I think he knows exactly what I mean, but is just trying to come to terms with the fact that his dad left him again. He is obviously still processing the fact that Dad just up and left.  

“Gohan,” I answer, trying my best to hold my temper back, but the hurt that I see from my brother at just the mention of our father is making that incredibly hard. It just makes me that much more motivated to pursue my goals. “I want to be able to fight Dad when he comes back and prove to him that he doesn’t have to go off and train someone else to defend the Earth, that we are more than capable of doing it ourselves.” I use the ‘excuse’ that our father had told us about needing another defender of Earth to hide my true motivation from my brother. While it’s true that I would like to be better prepared in case something should happen to Dad or Vegeta, that is not the reason I want Gohan to train me again. No.

I want to be able to defend my family against a threat. 

And Goku is that threat.

After weighing his options, Gohan sighs and nods his head, agreeing. I can’t help but grin back at him. I know that he doesn’t want to do it, that he hates training as a warrior and that he doesn’t want to train me that way, but I also know that he would do anything for me, even this. “Alright Goten, but I honestly don’t know why you want me to train you. I already taught you everything I know.”

I grin back at him. “I know you still have some tricks up your sleeve that you haven’t taught me, plus you are very good at correcting form and making your opponent pay for their mistakes, which are all things that I could use.” 

He sighs again before placing a hand to his face, shaking his head. I can tell he’s smiling though, which makes me grin wider. “You make some good points. Alright Goten, I’ll train you, only as long as you give it your all and listen to what I say. I also want to have a friendly, non-lethal spar with you once a week, and this can’t get in the way of your homework, helping Mom around the house, or babysitting Pan. Deal?”

He extends his hand towards me and I immediately accept, grabbing his hand and giving it a firm shake. “Deal.” I answer, and I internally smirk. 

Goku won’t know what hit him when he shows his sorry butt around here again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. In this story, Hercule admitted to the "light tricks" being a real form of martial arts, so the general public knows about ki. However, very few have been able to use it do to the intense training and discipline it requires, so the crowd is more surprised that someone is able to use a ki technique (flying).
> 
> 2\. The tournament is set up differently in this story. Pan fought Wild Tiger in the first match and Goten fought the guy Vegeta knocked out before the tournament started in the second. Goku and Uub's match was the third one of the finals. It's not relevant to the story, but in case you were wondering, Vegeta was matched up against Majin Buu.


	3. Life Moving On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life has continued for ten years since Goku left with Uub. What will happen when he finally comes back?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again everyone! As promised, here is the next chapter!

~Mount Paoz, 439 Mountain District, Age 795~

Ten years have passed since Dad left and he still hasn’t come back. 

I am currently sitting on the porch at my house, relaxing on my first day off in two weeks. After going through high school and the first year of undergraduate college, I decided that I wanted to do pharmacy as a career and pursued a PharmD degree. I was able to get into the program at Orange Star University after my second year of undergrad and graduated from the university just under two years ago. Now I am currently undergoing my PGY-2 residency with my specialty in cardiology, and I have been swamped at the hospital, working an average of 80 hours a week (1).  

I also found the girl of my dreams and got married last year. I couldn’t believe that I spent all of that time trying to find the one when she was right under my nose the whole time. I ended up marrying Krillin’s daughter Marron, and let me tell you that I couldn’t be happier with my life right now. I only got together with her because of Pan. She pushed me into asking her out, saying that best friends make the best couples. I was reluctant at first, but after a while realized that she was right and went for it. I’m so glad that I did too because now I’m married to the love of my life _and_ my best friend. 

Speaking of Pan, she is now fourteen, and an incredibly spunky, cheerful teenager. My niece is just finishing up her junior high school career and is will start high school next year. She has a tendency to give off an arrogant aura around the random stranger, something I know she got from her mother. However, also like her mother, she is incredibly nice and sweet once you get to know her. She really likes spending time at my house with Marron and me since she is really close to us. I think out of everyone, she was the most excited when she found out Marron and I were getting married. 

She also took over her family business as a crime fighter in the city where she goes to school. I almost laughed when she came over one day and was wearing Videl’s old Saiyagirl outfit. She was grinning up at me proudly and telling me all about how she was a super hero just like her mom and dad. I couldn’t help but smile at the girl as I had done the same thing in high school, using my brother’s Saiyaman outfit. I also knew that she would be a gigantic help to the police, as she has continued to train over the years as well. 

And like my brother before me, I decided to stay close to home and live in the 439 Mountain District. I don’t think I could ever live in the bustling city like Trunks, as I just love the atmosphere that this area brings. It took a lot of convincing on my part, but I was also able get Marron to agree to move out here, although I know that she misses the tropical setting of Kame Island. Still, I think that she’s glad that she was able to get away from her parents and Master Roshi. 

I also had an alternative motivation to stay here, and that was for Pan. After what Goku did to her ten years ago, I just couldn’t find it in myself to leave her as well. I know that it’s not the same thing if I were to move somewhere else, and I know I would have made an effort to at least talk to her every day, but I would have felt guilty. Ever since my father left, she has become rather ‘attached’ to my brother and me, even more than she was before. I think she was afraid that we would leave her like her grandfather did, and I didn’t want to potentiate that belief if I could help it. 

For the first year after he left, she was extremely hopeful, trusting her grandfather to come and visit her many times. After he never came that year, she became less hopeful until eventually she just gave up on the saiyan and decided that he wasn’t going to come back. It was incredibly hard to see her like that, hurt so much by the absence of someone she loved dearly. But as hard as that was, it was even harder to see her give up on him. After she confessed to me that she believed he was never going to come back, the look in her eyes filled with great pain, I thought my heart was going to break right then and there. She would probably deny it now, but I know for a fact that Goku’s absence still affects her today. It’s probably one of the reasons she is now Saiyagirl. 

So here I am, drinking a glass of iced tea while looking at the clouds. I lean back in my lawn chair as I take in the peaceful atmosphere of the nice, warm spring afternoon. I am currently home alone at the moment. Marron is off at work, teaching unmotivated teenagers at the high school in Satan City. I have always told her that even though my job requires more memorization and schooling, her job is probably twice as hard as mine. I have always respected her for attempting to enlighten the teenagers of Satan City about the wonders of literature. I grin at that. At least she’ll have Pan next year to help her out a bit. 

My mom is also out of the house right next door to mine. She and Bulma went on a shopping trip in West City today, something I know she loves. After her husband left her, Mom was depressed for a while, and Gohan had decided to move back in with Mom and me for a few months to help out. Of course Videl and Pan did as well, and with the help of us all, we were able to get Mom out of her slump. During that time, Bulma also made a concerted effort to come and visit us, and now every month, she picks up my mom and they both go on a shopping spree. Eventually, things went back to normal like they were before Goku even came back from the dead. 

Both Videl and Gohan are currently gone as well. Both are at work at the moment as it is the middle of the afternoon. Videl is working as a martial arts instructor at her father’s dojo and is teaching her students all about ki control and the long forgotten arts of martial arts… or at least is attempting to. Don’t get me wrong, my sister is an excellent sensei. It’s her students that are the problem. Even with the best teaching there is, the students have to have the mental discipline and physical ability to learn the art of ki control, something that she is just now figuring out. I don’t think she realized how special she was to be able to pick up ki control as quickly as she did. She was always comparing herself to me, thinking that she was no big deal since I was seven and learning everything she was, but that was also before she found out Gohan and I were saiyans. Still, I think now she knows why Master Roshi only trained five students in his lifetime.

Gohan is teaching as well, but he teaches upper level mathematics at Orange Star University. He teaches probably the most difficult material at the school, and he puts so much effort into his job, always trying to find ways to make his classes interesting. All of his efforts are paying off though. He students are scoring within the top 10 percent in mathematics in all of the standardized tests, and many have gone on to become big time actuaries at major insurance companies. The school board recognized this, and he became the director of the mathematics department of the school five years ago. I think Mom cried with pride when he told her that, and she and Videl threw him a huge party to celebrate. So things have been going quite well in life for my brother. 

And yes, over these last ten years, I have been training consistently. I do it whenever I can, but I am able to get a least 2-3 hours of training every day. And as promised, Gohan has been with me every step of the way. At first he was confused as to why I had such a strong motivation to train. After all, I had only shown that much determination to train when Buu was terrorizing the Earth, and Gohan wasn’t even around for that, doing his own special training with the Supreme Kai, so he was suspicious I had some ulterior motive. Since I have never been good at lying to begin with, and have probably never lied to my brother, I conceded at the beginning of our second training session and told him about trying to protect Pan from Goku. I really didn’t want to say it because I knew it’d hurt him and he’d refuse to train with me, but I had no other choice. 

However, I was incredibly shocked when instead of refusing to go on with the training, he had actually had pushed me harder. That training session, I saw a fire in his eyes that I hadn’t seen for a long time, not since Buu had threatened to kill Trunks and me twenty years ago. He had a protective glint in his eyes, the same glint I had in mine, and from that moment on, we trained harder than we ever did. We may have only had two or three hours every day, with him being a college professor and me being a full time student and now pharmacy resident not to mention everything else we have going on, but we definitely got the most out of those training sessions. 

And now I’m positive I could give my father a run for his money.

I admit, sometimes I wonder what my father is doing. I’m somewhat curious at how Uub’s family reacted to their son coming home with a strange man that they never met before. That must have been a shock. Of course they probably welcomed him with open arms since my father is incredibly likeable and charismatic. I also wonder if he eats as much there. According to the tournament announcer ten years ago, Uub’s village was in the middle of a famine and he was fighting for the money to feed his village. Dad did promise money, and Hercule had no choice to give him it since Goku announced it in public at the tournament, but Goku eats more in one day than that whole village probably eats in a week. 

But mostly, I wonder if he even remembers us at all. It seems as though he has completely forgotten about us since he found what he was looking for: the next big challenge. I scowl subconsciously as I continue to think about my father. I still don’t understand how he could leave everyone that cares about him behind without a care in the world. And not only that, but he hasn’t even visited once! Did he even care for us at all, or was he just too naïve to realize how his absence affects all of us, especially his family!? 

*crash*

I blink in surprise as I look down and realize that my angering thoughts made me squeeze the glass that my tea was in so hard to make it shatter. I sigh as I get up to get a broom and clean up the broken shards of glass. I am on my way to the kitchen when I feel something peculiar…

Something I haven’t felt in a long time. 

Ten years to be exact.

I quickly abandon my search for a broom and sprint to my bedroom. I immediately change into a fighting gi in preparation for what is going to happen, then make my way outside of my house and wait in the middle of the field behind all three houses. I have been waiting for this day for a long time.

The day I confront my father. 

It doesn’t take that long for him to arrive in front of me. I subconsciously clench my fists as I see him. He doesn’t look a day older than when he left, and by looking at him one wouldn’t know that it’s been ten years since he’s been around. He still has the same classic hairstyle and the same innocent expression on his face. And of course, he still has that same grin that he’s known for. Seeing me waiting for him, he waves enthusiastically. 

“Hey Goten!” he greets me as if he hasn’t been gone for the last ten years. “You look good! I can tell you’ve been keeping up with your training. You’re ki is much stronger than last time!”

“Hello Goku,” I respond, not an ounce of warmth in my voice. In all honesty I’m trying my hardest to try and stop myself from punching his face in here and now. He acts like he hasn’t been gone for years! And I can’t help but notice that the first thing that he mentioned to me since he left ten years ago was that I was keeping up with my training. Is that seriously all he really cares about!? It’s been ten years and I was seventeen when I left, yet the first thing he thinks about is if I was training. No ‘how’s life been treating you?’ or ‘what are you up to these days?’ or even ‘how are your mother and brother doing?’ 

Nope. Just an ‘I can tell you’ve been keeping up with your training.’

Why am I surprised?

“And yes I’ve kept up with my training,” I continue with a scowl, but my father seems oblivious to my obvious to my annoyance, probably too focused on the fact that I’ve been training this intensely over the past ten years to notice. “I train about 2-3 hours a day.”

To be honest I can’t say that I blame him for being so surprised about hearing that I’m actually training. The whole time he was actually here I showed very little motivation to train, only occasionally doing some light training and friendly sparring with Gohan or Trunks (and later Pan). After going through Buu, I honestly didn’t want to do martial arts at all, and I finally found out why my mother was so against us fighting. It was incredibly dangerous and terrifying, and even though everything ended up alright in the end, I was so frightened by what happened that I never wanted to go near the sport again, even after Goku had come back and insisted that I continue with it. Could you blame me though? I was only seven years old at the time and had already died once fighting a terrifying monster.

However, after a while I had started to miss it. I missed the excitement that martial arts gave me. I missed the challenge of having to outsmart your opponent. I missed the physical training that came with sparring and the ability it gave me to learn something new. But what I missed the most was when Gohan would train me. He always said that he hated fighting, but loved martial arts because of the mental aspect of it. He always told me that one had to be incredibly disciplined to learn martial arts and that this practice was good not only for the physical exercise, but the mental, something he told me he learned from Piccolo. 

When Gohan and I would train, he was surprisingly strict and a very demanding sensei. Even when I was little he would correct me constantly for even the tiniest flaw in form or for the lack of attention. Big Brother always said that it was because he expected great things from me and that I had so much potential. But he also was so happy when I finally got it right and was always quick to praise me. When we would spar, he always pushed me to my limit, while not being too difficult where I gave up, and he would make sure that neither of us got too banged up. Looking back on it, he was an amazing sensei, even though he told me he had never taught anyone before. 

So one day, about a half a year after Buu, I decided to ask my father to train me again. I would have asked Gohan, but he was hanging out with Videl more often since they had recently started dating. I know that he probably would have trained me (as I later found out), but I didn’t want to be a burden on him. Besides, I wanted to hang out with my father! He had just come back to life not even six months prior and I really liked him. He was super funny, incredibly friendly, and an all-around great guy to be with, but he was constantly gone training, only really coming home for meals, so I never really got a chance to see him. This seemed to be a good way to be able to spend some more time with him. 

Of course Goku had accepted my offer to train with him without hesitation. I have to admit, I was impressed with what he could do. His technique was flawless and he had a natural talent for learning different forms and moves that was second to none. And during battle (I couldn’t call what he did a simple spar), he was incredibly innovative, showing that he isn’t as dimwitted as Vegeta says he is. At first I was having a blast learning from my father. He wasn’t as strict as Gohan when it came to form, although he was still critical, and he was always so much fun to play with when we took a break. I also learned so much from just watching him train. 

He was the ideal martial artist. 

No, the ideal warrior. 

The reason I stopped training with my father was the ‘sparring.’ He was always so intense when we would face each other, and he always made sure I left the training session worse for wear. Most of the time it was like he forgot he was fighting an eight year old–-that was his son nonetheless-–and would go at it incredibly hard. I’ve never had a spar with Dad that I’ve not had to go super saiyan in, and he still would clobber me! Unlike Gohan who knew when to stop and knew what my limits were, my father didn’t. He would keep going until I couldn’t move anymore. It felt like I was battling Buu again, fighting for my life, and even though I know that my father would never take it quite _that_ far, I couldn’t help but think of it that way. 

One day I had told Gohan about this and he had been furious. Sure, he didn’t show it around me, but I could definitely tell. I have no idea what he said to Goku, but after that, my father wasn’t nearly as unforgiving on me. He also didn’t train me nearly as much either, and eventually I stopped training with him altogether. Thankfully, Trunks felt the same way about training with Vegeta, so both of us eventually worked up the resolve to ask Gohan. It wasn’t like we were scared of asking him or anything, but we really didn’t want to burden him with our troubles as he was already so busy with school and Videl. But Trunks and I were only nine and eight years old respectively. We couldn’t teach ourselves… at least not well. 

It turned out though that we shouldn’t have been that worried about it. Gohan was more than happy to teach us. He just taught us during the time he usually allotted to hanging out with me. In fact, on more than one occasion, Videl would join him and help him. Those training sessions with Gohan are some of my fondest memories…

I am knocked out of my deep reminiscing by my father’s incredulous voice. “You got that strong from only training 2-3 hours a day?” he says, stunned at my progress. “How’d you do that with that little training?”

I look at my father, a deep frown on my face. Only he and Vegeta would classify 2-3 hours of intense training a day as ‘very little.’ Well perhaps Piccolo would too now that I think about it, but he lives by himself; training is how he passes time in times of peace so I don’t really count him. Getting back on topic, I explain to my father the nature of my training. “I trained with Gohan every time. We both pushed each other to the limit.” 

As I tell this to my father, his eyes widen even more if possible, further surprised. He probably expected that the least out of anyone, knowing how Gohan feels about training in that fashion. I admit, I kind of feel guilty for making Gohan train me since I too know how he feels about this, but he was the only one who I could fully trust to train me to my limit, yet not take it too far. And it turned out that he felt the same way that I did about Goku, making him the perfect sensei/training partner. 

That last thought makes my anger return to me. This training wouldn’t have been necessary if Goku had just stayed home! If he had, I wouldn’t have felt the need to protect Pan from him. I wouldn’t have felt the need to ask my brother to train me like there was another monster on the loose. 

My father however apparently took this news completely differently, like I actually _wanted_ to train with Gohan this way. The classic grin that he’s known for now adorns his face, only making me want to wipe it clean off. “Wow, Gohan trained you?” he asks, still not believing what I said. “That’s fantastic! He must be much stronger too!” 

“As a matter of fact, I am!”

My eyes widen as I turn to see none other than Gohan land right next to me. He wears a neutral expression as he looks at our father, but I can tell that he’s pissed. I guess this is what we trained for after all. I quickly snap out of my revere however and address my brother. “Gohan! What are you doing here?” I ask him. “I thought you had class right now.”

My big brother stares at Goku for another moment before looking at me. His face morphs into a warm, concerned expression. “I felt your ki spike ten minutes ago. I know that you normally have great control of your ki, so I decided to check it out knowing that you were the only one home. Don’t worry though. I think I’m the only one who felt it.”

It’s my turn to stare at my brother. My ki spiked? I was so lost in my thoughts about Goku that I didn’t even notice. That certainly explains why Gohan ditched his class to come here though. I sigh in frustration at my lack of control. Knowing my brother like I do, he probably was worried about me since I was supposed to be by myself at home and he didn’t know what was going on. But even if I lost control for a moment, it couldn’t have spiked that high. Only Gohan would be able to feel a spike in my ki so minor, and only he would drop everything he’s doing to check on me because of it too, even if I am 28 years old now. He has always been extra protective of me, something I figure will never change no matter how old I get. I wouldn’t want it to change either. It’s nice to know that Gohan is always looking out for me. 

It seems as if our father finally registered Gohan’s presence here as he starts greeting him now. “Gohan!” He shouts cheerfully. “It’s good to see you! Yeah, I can tell you’re much stronger too. You guys must have really gone all out during your training.”  

Gohan puts on his neutral expression once again and turns towards our father. “Hello Goku,” he answers in a mirror of how I first greeted him. I can see through his mask though. I can see the hurt that he is feeling at seeing his father again, old wounds reopening. The fact that Goku has yet to talk about anything other than training probably magnifies the feelings to him. 

I know it magnifies my anger. 

“I see you haven’t changed at all in your time away,” he continues while I try to get myself back in control of my increasingly unstable anger. Goku just looks on at him confused, tilting his head to the side, although he still has the maddening grin on his face. I know what my brother is referring to though. While Goku looks exactly the same as he did when he left, he’s talking about the fact that he puts his training before everything else. 

I internally groan at that, shaking my head subconsciously. This line of thinking is doing absolutely nothing other than fueling my anger at my father. If the subject doesn’t change soon I’m not going to be able to hold myself back from viciously attacking him. It’s sad that thinking about my father only makes me want to attack him. I can’t help it though! He is completely maddening with his naivety. 

The subject of these thoughts is what brings me out of these musings. “What do you mean by that Gohan?” I hear him say, and I suppress the urge to roll my eyes. Typical Goku. He doesn’t even realize that Gohan is trying to make a point. 

Big Brother just sighs and shakes his head at our father’s response. He’s probably as frustrated as I am at the moment. “Never mind Dad,” He replies, dropping the subject. I guess he thought it wasn’t going to go anywhere. With Goku’s naivety I would have to agree with that assessment. “So what are you doing back here anyways? I thought you left to go train that kid Uub.” 

Ah, the almighty question. I’ve been wondering the same thing. What _is_  Goku doing back here? He obviously doesn’t care much about us if he never even took the time to visit us over this ten year period, so what motive would he have to finally show up after all of this time? Does he need more money from Hercule? That wouldn’t surprise me since he eats so much, but then again, if that were the case why would he come here? He would just go to the world famous man himself. Is it possible that he actually came back to see us? Could it be true that he actually thought of his family after all of this time? 

Even if that’s the case though it wouldn’t change anything. I still wouldn’t forgive him for leaving yet again. For leaving Mom, Gohan, and especially Pan behind with little more than a quick goodbye to train a complete stranger. No, he doesn’t deserve the luxury of forgiveness. 

I go through all of this in my head in a matter of moments as I wait for my father to reply to Gohan’s inquiry. Finally though, he answers. “I finished my training with Uub. Now he’s more than ready to take on any threat that comes here alongside of us, so I decided to come home. I told you I’d be back!” 

After hearing that, I could only imagine what my face would have looked like. I was shocked that he actually said that he was done training Uub. Perhaps Uub finally reached his potential and my father got bored fighting him, so he decided to leave and come back here. It only took him ten years. I look at my brother to gaze his expression, and I am further shocked. He looks just as shocked as I feel, but his eyes tell a different story. I look into my brother’s eyes and I see anger, probably at dad for taking so long to come back, but I also see a tinge of hope. I know my brother better than anyone else in the universe, and I instantly know what that’s for…

And the thought of it makes my blood boil over the top. 

“No.”

The sound of my voice is but a mere whisper, but it still draws the attention of my father and Gohan. “NO!” I shout it out this time.

I want to put a stop to this at once.  

Gohan’s hopeful that things will go back to the way they were before Goku left. He’s hopeful that he will get his father back. But what makes me so furious is the fact that I know that that little tinge of hope in my big brother’s eyes is because he’s hopeful that Goku will stick around for good this time. I can’t stand that thought because I know that it’s not going to transpire. As soon as he finds a new adventure, Goku will leave again without a second thought, and who knows how long it will be for next time? It will only be a matter of time before something else piques our father’s interest. He’s giving Gohan, one of four people that I love the most, false hope, only to crush that again. 

I carry no such hope because I never was close to Goku to begin with. Gohan however, despite all of our father’s flaws and past actions, loves our father deeply, as much as he loves Mom, Videl, even Pan and me. If there is even the slightest hope that he will come back and stay, he will latch onto that hope and feed on it as if a starving child. 

So I must crush that seed of hope; crush it so that Goku won’t hurt the ones I love anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I couldn’t resist. The cannon never goes into what Goten does for a living after Goku leaves so I decided to add my own personal twist. This is actually my career path (at least what I hope will happen).


	4. Eviction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goten is tired of Goku playing with the emotions of the ones he loves. He takes it upon himself to evict Goku from their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you again for at least giving my story a look! This chapter is a bit longer than my previous chapters, and you will finally see how some other people react to Goku. I hope you enjoy!

~Mount Paoz, 439 East Mountain District, Age 795~

Both my father and Gohan look at me with astonished expressions. Big Brother’s holds more concern behind his while Dad’s is just pure shock. My ki spikes again before I can control it. This time I’m positive that everyone felt it, but I could care less at this point. “You can’t just come waltzing back here like you never left!” I continue, now shouting in my fury. “You left us ten years ago almost instantly and never looked back! Ten years Goku! You never even came back for a simple visit like you promised Pan!”

I still can’t believe what my father just said! The nerve of that man! Thinking that he can come back whenever he wants without any consequences after what he did to us! He thinks that he will be welcomed back with open arms by everyone that he abandoned without a second thought. Meanwhile, he gives the people that love him hope that he will stay around for good.  If they were to step back and think about it, they would realize that it would be idiotic to believe this; however, I know for a fact that people like my mother and Gohan place a great deal of irrational trust in my father due to their attachment to him. Honestly, I don’t blame them either. All I have to do is think of how I think of Gohan to realize that I would do the same thing if Goku were him instead. 

This is why I don’t blame my brother at all for having this hope for his father. I just have to make him realize that putting trust in Goku is the worst thing he could possibly do, at least when it comes to family matters. If history has taught me anything, it’s that Goku can’t stay in one place for long, and nothing will keep him from going on his next adventure. If Big Brother were to put trust in our father, then he will get burned big time in the end. He will end up even more hurt than he was last time that Goku left. 

So I must stop this fantasy that my father is starting to paint in front of my brother and me, a fantasy I know he won’t be able to create. It is my job as someone who doesn’t actually have that strong of a connection with Goku to make those that do see reality. It will be a difficult task, especially considering how incredibly charismatic Goku is, but it’s a necessary one. 

After all, I vowed to protect the ones I love from any threat. 

And that threat right now is my father. 

Gohan makes a move to put a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down. I flinch at his touch before relaxing, realizing what he’s trying to do. As I extend my senses, I internally groan as I can feel both Krillin and Piccolo heading in this direction. Great! I didn’t want anyone else to realize that my father had come back, but that’s out of the question now. Gohan probably sensed them before I did, which is probably why he’s trying to make me calm down. As always, his touch is able to do the trick, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still pissed at my father. 

As if realizing that I’ve calmed down a bit, Goku attempts to speak again. “Goten—“

“No Dad.” I hear Gohan state right away, and I have to look at him. The way he said that was so calm, but it commanded nothing but respect. I now realize that he’s a lot angrier than he has let on. “Just don’t. Goten is right. Even if you told us you were leaving for a while, you did promise Pan that you would visit, but you never did, not even once. Do you know how devastated she was when she realized that she may never see her grandfather—who she loved dearly—ever again?!” 

Ah. I should have realized that I might have struck a low blow with my brother when I mentioned Goku’s promise to Pan. I can see my father flinch at Gohan’s words, bringing a small amount of satisfaction to me. Good; he should feel bad. He did break a five-year-old girl’s heart after all. In fact, he should be ashamed of himself for such a thing. Pan is probably the sweetest, most perfect girl on the planet. She didn’t do anything to deserve being abandoned by her grandfather. Eventually she got over it, but it took a very long time for Gohan, Videl, and me to help her through it. 

I still can remember that second year he was gone, the year that Pan had lost faith in her hero. To her, ‘Grandpa Goku’ was an amazing person who never let her down. She couldn’t believe that he still hadn’t shown up. She and her family had been living in my house to help out Mom, so we ended up sharing a room for a while. There were many nights where she would have a nightmare where her grandfather would come home, but show her absolutely no affection. There were others that she would have where he wouldn’t come home at all, no matter how much she begged. My little niece even had one particular nightmare where she found the dragon balls and asked Shenron to bring him back, but the magical dragon told her that he didn’t want to come home. 

Of course I couldn’t stand to see Pan suffer even a little bit, so every night I would comfort her after these nightmares. She would cry into my shirt while I rubbed her back for her and suddenly, I realized what it was like for my brother whenever he did this for me. He would do the exact same thing for me whenever I had a nightmare when I was little. I was empathetic to Pan; seeing her upset made me upset, and I realized at that point that Gohan must have felt the same way towards me. It made me feel kind of guilty about making him do this so much, but I know that he probably didn’t mind one bit because I didn’t mind doing it for Pan. Still though, it killed me inside to know that she was suffering and I could do absolutely nothing to help her other than comfort her when she was scared or hurt after the fact. 

The only one that could have prevented the nightmares had left her.

It got to the point where she would also have nightmares where not only her grandfather, but Gohan and I would abandon her as well. These were the worst because after each of those she would beg me to promise her to never leave her like her grandfather, something I always agreed to. Of course I would never even think about doing that, but she was still traumatized by Goku’s departure that she needed the reassurance that I wouldn’t. 

My ki spikes once again unintentionally, causing my brother to look over at me once again. Dang it! I usually have more control over my emotions than this, but Pan has always been a sensitive topic for me as well. If you messed with that girl at all you had me to answer to. Goku messed with Pan, and absolutely crushed her, so it’s time that he answered for his crimes. 

Speaking of answering, it appears as if Goku is about to answer to Gohan’s accusation.  He sends me a weary glance, perhaps from picking up my ki spike, before turning back to Gohan and speaking: “I guess I must have lost track of the time while I was training. What can I say? Time flies when you’re having a good time!” Goku then gives us both the ever-famous grin that he is known for while rubbing the back of his head.

…

…

…

…what?

Did he really just say that?! I stare at my father blankly, completely stunned. He must have said that in the most aloof manner possible, as if it wasn’t a big deal that he broke his promise to his own granddaughter. He just basically admitted that he doesn’t feel any regret for being gone and for leaving Pan behind. Like I had originally thought when I overheard him make the promise ten years ago, it was an empty one; a promise he didn’t plan on keeping.

I briefly look over at Gohan and can see that he clearly can’t believe what he just heard, not that I blame him. I don’t really think I’ve processed everything either. It just sounds completely ridiculous! All of the nights that I’ve comforted Pan because she’s had a nightmare about him are because he guesses he “lost track of time?” The reason Mom and Gohan were hurt so badly is because “time flies when you’re having a good time?” These are the excuses he is using for not keeping his promise? These are his excuses for not visiting his family and friends for an entire span of ten years?  

I try my best to form a coherent response for my father to all of this, but I just can’t think of anything. That man that I used to be proud to call my father has literally stunned me speechless with the pure carelessness in that response. I know that Goku is naïve and has a tendency to be thickheaded when it comes to family affairs, but I would have never pegged him to one that would be able to toss around his own granddaughter’s feelings as if they were easily disposable. In fact, with that statement he really just tossed everyone’s feelings aside as if nothing. 

Unfortunately—or fortunately, of which I’m not sure—I don’t need to come up with a response as I hear two pairs of feet touch down behind me. I already know that it’s Piccolo and Krillin before I even turn around to look at them. Both of them look shocked at seeing Goku here, but eventually handle it their own ways. Krillin looks as if he is in tears, probably happy to see his best friend after such a long time. Of course I understand his reaction, as they are they are the best of friends, yet they have separate families and lives (at least until I married Marron). Krillin didn’t really have a reason to hold a grudge against Goku for leaving. In fact, the formerly bald monk probably knew better than anyone that Goku would be gone as long as he has been. He’s probably just happy that Dad came back at all. 

I turn my gaze to Piccolo and see him look at me, then at Gohan, and finally at Goku before crossing his arms over his chest in his characteristic fashion and glaring at Goku. I smile at that. Piccolo is to Gohan as Gohan is to me, and I know that he has a very protective instinct for both of us, especially Big Brother. If there’s one person who knows Gohan as well as I do, it’s him. He knows that Goku hurt him by leaving, if not directly then through his daughter’s suffering and despair. He _does_ hold a grudge against Goku for leaving.

“Goku!” I hear Krillin shout, racing towards my father. The short human quickly envelops him in a hug before letting go and wiping his eyes. Was it me, or did he actually shed a few tears? Well that just confirms my theory that Krillin is genuinely happy to see my father home. That makes one of us. 

Goku looks at Krillin and gives him a big grin. “Hey Krillin! And Piccolo too!” he adds, turning towards the resident green man before turning back to Krillin. “Long time no see man!”

The grin that Krillin gives my father is beaming. I haven’t seen my father-in-law so happy since I married his daughter. "Yeah well it’s been ten years! It’s great to see ya buddy!” He scratches the back of his head in  a similar manner as my father, another thing he probably picked up from his best friend. “Man, you look like you haven’t aged a single day since you left! I on the other hand have aged a ton!”

My father chuckles in response and Krillin goes on telling him stories from these past few years. During this time I turn my gaze to my brother briefly, trying to gauge his reaction to this exchange. For once I can’t really tell what he’s thinking; he’s keeping a pretty calm exterior, but I have a feeling that he is glad that Krillin is so happy. A part of me is too, though another part is frustrated that he is encouraging Goku to stick around. 

“So this is why your ki spiked a while ago.”

I quickly turn my head towards Piccolo, a bit surprised he addressed me. I know what’s he’s confirming though: he’s confirming that my father is the reason I got go angry I lost control for a moment earlier. I slowly nod my head and he grunts before nodding in return and turning back to the conversation between Goku and Krillin. I wonder what that was about, but I have a feeling that I will find out soon enough. Piccolo usually isn’t one to beat around the bush. 

“—and then ever since Goten and Marron got married things have been a lot quieter around the house. Now it’s just Eighte—“

“Wait Goten married Marron?!  Your daughter Marron!?” Goku interrupts Krillin, clearly shocked by this new piece of information. This makes me scowl. He would have known had he bothered to ask me!

My father-in-law scratches his head in confusion. “Yeah, he did. Geez Goku, I thought you knew that already.”

My actual father shakes his head negatively. “No, it never came up.” 

“Oh really Goku,” Piccolo adds in, speaking to everyone for the first time, and shocking everyone. He actually sounds pissed off, making me smirk internally. Now Dad’s gonna get it! “If I recall, Krillin and I only came here due to a ki spike by Goten. You were most likely here for a while before we arrived, yet you mean to tell me that the subject of your son’s life never came up in your conversations when you hadn’t seen him in ten years?” He then scowls at my father. “Funny, if I hadn’t seen Gohan for ten years the first thing I would ask him would be how he was doing and what he’s up to. Clearly it would have come up then.”

Bingo.

Piccolo brought up the very point that Gohan and I have been seething over ever since Goku got here: the fact that he didn’t’ even bother asking us simply how we were doing. I see Goku scratch the back of his head nervously after Piccolo’s comments and I sigh. Do we really mean that little to him, so little that he’s not even interested in what we’ve been doing over all of these years? It amazes me that he stuck around for as long as he did after the whole Buu debacle with how he’s been acting since he got back here.

After a moment, I see Krillin walk in between my father and Piccolo, raising his arms defensively. I hold back a scoff at this. It looks like he’s trying to defend Goku. “Whoa there Piccolo!” He responds. “Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh?”

“No he isn’t.”

I instantly turn my attention to Gohan, the one who made that statement, and I can feel everyone else look at him as well. This is the first time he has said anything since Krillin and Piccolo arrived. “Piccolo’s right Krillin,” he continues. “Dad was here for a good fifteen minutes before you guys arrived. In fact, he was also here for five minutes before I got here. Even I thought that Goten had told him that he was married, but I guess I was wrong.” He lets that sink into everyones’ heads for a moment before turning back to Dad.  “Do we really mean that little to you that you weren’t even wondering a little bit what has gone on these past ten years?”

“Of course not Gohan!” Goku vehemently denies, and I raise my eyebrows. He actually sounds genuine in that denial, but he will have to do more than that to convince me. “I honestly was just so shocked by Goten’s rise in ki that I had to ask him about it. When I left to train Uub he seemed completely against the idea of training that way, but he obviously had been training very intensely to get that much of a rise in power. We were in the middle of this discussion when you showed up Gohan, and then you know the rest. I was just curious about your training that’s all!”

“You idiot! That’s the point!” I scream at the top of my lungs. I could care less that my ki spiked again, and that both Goku and Krillin are looking at me like I’m crazy. After hearing him make excuses again, I just couldn’t take it anymore. This issue has to get out in the open. “That's all you care about: the training! But you’re right. I was completely against it, but that changed after you left. Did you even wonder _why_ I started training seriously again?”

After seeing Goku just give me a blank, confused look in response I finally lose it, and I stop repressing my ki. A blue aura starts forming around me and the wind starts to pick up as my ki escalates, ruffling the leaves on the trees and the grass as I continue to shout at my father. “I started training again because there was a treat to my family, and do you know what that threat was?” I don’t even give him a moment to respond before shooting out my right arm and pointing directly at him. 

“It was you, Goku.”

I say the last part in a lower, but threatening tone. Both him and Krillin look shocked at what I just said, but neither Piccolo nor Gohan do. They knew I felt this way about my father and they probably expected this to come sooner or later, the more time I spent around the infuriating man I call my father. 

Krillin is the first to recover though and instantly moves to retort. “Goten, you can’t be serious!” He answers incredulously. It figures that he would immediately come to my father’s defense even after ten years of being gone. Then again though, I must admit that to everyone outside of my brother, Piccolo, Trunks, and Marron, the idea of me thinking of Goku as my enemy would sound a bit ridiculous. 

Still though, I’m not gonna let that stop me. 

I glare at my father-in-law for a moment before explaining myself to him and Goku. “I’m completely serious. Goku is threat to my family. By leaving constantly to go out and train, he constantly hurts those that he leaves behind. He’s a threat to Mom, Pan, and especially Gohan since he’s so close to him. Well I won’t stand for this anymore!!” 

I shout out the last part to the heavens as I throw my head back and scream, transforming right away into super saiyan without any effort.  A golden aura shoots out from me and I can feel a cyclone of wind start to form around me. I can hear loose rocks start to swirl around in my aura as I continue to power up until finally relaxing myself at the highest ki level a super saiyan can go. The winds start to subside, but the golden aura still surrounds my form, with the occasional golden lightning bolt jumping from out of it.

I give Goku a hard glare before I continue. “I will do whatever it takes to keep you away from here, even if that means fighting you, ‘Dad!’”

I then look around to see everyone’s reaction to my transformation. My father and Krillin both look shocked at me, although I wonder if it’s because of my power or the fact that I even transformed to begin with. I’m positive that they didn’t realize that my feelings about my father’s absence ran this deep, so perhaps they are shocked from that as well. Even Piccolo looks a little startled, though I have a feeling that is because of my power. Internally I smirk at this. Before my training with Gohan I wasn’t nearly this strong, and this is only the tip of the iceberg for me. 

The only one who isn’t surprised at all is Gohan. He knows what kind of power I now possess so he knows that this is nothing to my true strength. He also knows my motives for this sudden transformation. Instead, he looks at me with what I would say is a sad smile. He’s probably proud of how far I’ve come in terms of power, yet sad at the reasons this need came about to begin with. 

I’m about to go charge Goku when he puts his hands up in defense. “Wait Goten!” He pleads, causing me to pause my actions. What does he want to say now? “I don’t want to fight you! Not like this!”

I scowl at him, my golden aura whipping around me violently. “Oh really, _now_ you don’t want to fight me?” I answer sarcastically. “You never had a problem with it before when I was eight years old! Now that I’m an adult though you refuse to fight me. Now that I think about it, Gohan was only a kid when you trained him and even Uub must have only been at most ten years old when you took off with him. So tell me ‘Daddy,’ are you afraid that I’ll beat you and you’ll never be able to come back here again, or do you just prefer to fight little kids?”

“Goten!”

To be honest, I don’t blame Krillin for his outburst right there. That last comment even surprised myself. Trunks always said that when I’m angry, I could be a real ass to people. Still though, I meant what I said earlier: I will fight Goku to keep him from staying here. He just poses too much of a risk of hurting everyone I love if I allow him the opportunity to earn their trust back again. If that comment helps me provoke him to fight me, then I will say it again and again. I don’t care how ridiculous it sounds. 

“Goten wait!” I hear Goku shout again, and I grow even more impatient. He’s just making me that much more frustrated. “I’m sorry that I left you guys so suddenly!” he continues, though it doesn’t shock me. I figured he’d feel guilty enough to apologize sooner or later. He is after all, still a good guy. He just can’t be trusted. “I promise I’ll stay for good if you give me another chance—“

“That’s bull, Goku, and you know it!” I shout back furiously, golden lighting shooting off me dangerously towards him and cutting him off before he has a chance to make another empty promise. “You have no idea the hurt you caused by your departure ten years ago. You didn’t see Mom break down at the tournament and then cry herself to sleep every night for almost a two months straight. You didn’t see Pan have nightmare after nightmare because she missed you so much and was worried you didn’t love her anymore. You weren’t there, and this isn’t even the first time you’ve done this! I won’t let you do this again! I won’t give you that opportunity!”

“Uncle Goten!”

My eyes widen at the sound of the voice I would recognize anywhere. Instantly I calm down and drop the violent aura around me, although I still hold my transformation as my niece lands in front of me. I would never risk hurting her with my transformation, and besides, it’s always hard to be angry when she’s around... unless she’s being hurt.  

I didn’t expect Pan to come here. She still has two hours left of school! I see though that she is wearing her mother’s Sayagirl outfit, so she most likely made up an excuse to get out of classes and fly out here. It probably wasn’t that hard either; the teachers know that her mother is the formerly known ‘Videl Satan,’ so they give her the same leniencies that they gave her mom.  Instantly she runs up to me and gives me a hug, which further calms me down. Only a select few people have this power, and she is one of them. 

“Uncle Goten, what wrong?” She asks me after the hug. “I felt your ki spike a few times before rising steadily until you were a super saiyan! I thought you were training with Dad until I remembered you were home alone. Then I felt Dad, Uncle Krillin, and Mr. Piccolo were here along with another ki I didn’t recognize so I thought I’d come to help. Is there another threat?”

I look at Pan quizzically for a moment. She still doesn’t know what is going on? Didn’t she see Goku when she flew down here? Obviously not since she hasn’t said a thing about him yet. But shouldn’t she be able to recognize his ki? I’m honestly shocked that she can’t, but as I think about it more, she may not have had a good grasp on ki sensing by the time Goku left ten years ago. After all, she was only four at the time, and I know that I couldn’t sense anyone other than Gohan until I was at least six years old. Suddenly it doesn’t seem so surprising that she doesn’t recognize Goku’s ki signature. She never learned it because he was already gone when she was starting to learn how. 

“Videl! Wow, I didn’t know you were still Saiyagirl!”

I am brought out of my thoughts by my father’s shout. He obviously doesn’t recognize Pan as he mistook her for her mother. I guess he was expecting his granddaughter to still be as small as she was back when he left her. I look directly at my niece and can tell that she stiffened visually from hearing Goku’s voice, probably the last voice she expected to hear, and also for calling her by her mother’s name. 

I see Pan turn around slowly, and I hear her gasp at seeing her grandfather right there in front of her. I can’t say I’m shocked by her reaction as this would be the first time that she’s seen him in ten years. I move to stand next to her so I can gauge her reaction by her face and I can see tears welling up in her eyes, although it’s tough to see through her blue visor on her helmet. I barely hear her gasp out a “Grandpa Goku” before seeing a single tear run down her face. Narrowing my eyes, I turn back to my father. He’s already given my brother false hope earlier. I prey to Dende that Pan doesn’t fall under his spell as well. 

I briefly turn to my brother to see what he is making of this new development. I’m pretty sure he didn’t expect his daughter to cut class early to come here and see what’s going on. He has been relatively silent for a while now, and he might still be processing the fact that I was about to fight Goku to begin with. As I look at him, I see that he hasn’t taken his eyes off of Pan; he probably hasn’t since she’s arrived, and judging from the look on his face, I’m pretty sure that he has concluded the same thing I have from seeing Pan’s reaction to seeing Goku. He looks incredibly concerned, yet I see a silent anger in his eyes. He’s just as pissed as I am about this new development. 

Then for the first time since Pan arrived, he takes his eyes off of his daughter and looks directly at me, then gestures to Goku before looking at me again pointedly. I look back confused for a moment before realizing what he’s trying to get at. He wants me to get Goku out of here before he has a chance to trick her into thinking he’s coming back. This shocks me a little. This whole time, I’ve been thinking that Big Brother has been secretly hoping that Dad would be back to stay. Then again, maybe he is, and that’s why he wants me to get rid of him; he probably doesn’t trust himself to oust our father completely, even though he knows it’s for the best. 

I smile a little at him before nodding seriously in agreement to his silent request. Slowly, as to not startle my niece, I start building my ki again and make a move to start heading towards our father with every intention to make him leave one way or another.

But someone beats me to him. 

My eyes widen as I see Pan walk up to her grandfather so that she’s standing directly in front of him. Then, looking up at him (as she is a whole foot shorter than him), she presses the red button on her Saiyagirl watch and the costume disappears to her normal outfit. Now I can see her eyes as clear as day and can see that she’s actually not happy to see him like I thought, but angry. She’s giving Goku one of the fiercest glares I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying something seeing I’ve seen the glares from Mom, Bulma, and Videl. 

*SMACK!*

Then she slaps him right across the face. 

I watch in stunned amazement as Goku goes flying across the yard from the blow. He probably wasn’t expecting her to smack him at all and thus was unprepared when she did. Also add in the fact that Pan is the strongest woman on the planet and you have my father getting floored by a simple slap. I internally laugh at this while smirking on the outside. He _definitely_ deserved that. It takes a moment before Goku is able to recover from the vicious and unexpected blow, but Pan seems to be only getting started. 

“Now you show up? Why are you here?!” she shouts in anger, still glaring daggers at my father. “I thought you were off training that other kid! What business do you have here?”

I can tell my father is intimidated by his granddaughter as I see him flinch and cringe at her tone. I almost break out into laughter for real at seeing that since Pan is one of the nicest people on the face of this Earth, but she can definitely be intimidating when she wants to be. “P-Pan?”

“Oh wow, you recognize me!” She cuts him off sarcastically. She sounds angrier than I’ve ever seen her before and now I suddenly realize how much her grandfather’s absence truly affected her. She holds a huge grudge against him, more so than even I do! “I’m surprised that you were able to put it together, considering it’s been ten freaking years since you’ve been here!”

Goku puts up his hands defensively. “Pan listen—”

“NO! _You_ listen!!” she shouts, stalking her way over to the saiyan. “You just leave like you did ten years ago with another kid and expect to just come back ten years later expecting everything to be hunky dory?” She then pokes him in the chest, hard I might add, causing him to stumble backwards a few paces.  “You _left!_ You even promised to visit but never did once! Do you know how many nights I expected you to come home and see me? I thought you loved me enough to want to come see me every once and a while! It certainly seemed that way when you were still here!”

Pan then glares heatedly at him again, tears now freely leaking out of her eyes. “But apparently I was wrong! You were just messing with me! I wasn’t good enough for you! No, instead you leave to live with another kid that we’ve never met before! For the longest time I always wondered why I wasn’t good enough! Was it because I was a girl and you wanted a boy? But then I heard from Uncle Goten that you did this before to Daddy too when he was a kid, and more than once! 

“Once I found that out, I realized that that was just who you were! You let people think that you love them only to abandon them at the sight of the next best thing! When I was four, I poured all of my trust into you and you completely abused it! That’s when I started to hate you Goku! I’ve never hated anyone in my life, but I hated you! I hated you for abandoning your family time and time again, and then for abandoning me!”

Suddenly, I feel Pan’s ki spike and the wind picks up quickly before a golden aura explodes around her and she transforms into a super saiyan. The force of the sudden transformation forces me backwards a few paces. As I look around through shielded eyes—as the light from her aura is so bright and the wind is incredibly strong—I see everyone else is trying hard to attempt to hold their ground. Pan is putting on an impressive display of power, and for a moment, I smirk proudly. I’m the one that has been training her for the past ten years after Goku left. At this point her ki is nearing what mine is currently, which, granted isn’t as high as it was before. It's still very impressive nonetheless as I still have never dropped my transformation from before. However, my smirk fades into a scowl as I remember why she transformed in the first place: her anger at Goku. 

In fact, the reminder makes me furious, as she is finally letting out how much he has truly hurt her. She had never once told me that she hated Goku, and she tells me everything! I knew that she started resenting him for leaving, but I never knew the resentment went this deep. My ki starts to rise subconsciously as a result.

I’m actually surprised that I haven’t felt my brother’s ki rise yet. He’s the only one on this planet that is more protective of Pan than I am, and I know that this must be eating him up inside to see her so hurt. Perhaps his concern for his daughter is outweighing his anger at his father at the moment. I don’t know if she ever told him that she hated Goku, but I do know that he probably is very worried about what this could be doing to her. Hatred this deep isn’t healthy for someone to have. 

“So go!” Pan shouts again, bringing my attention back to her at the moment. “Leave again and go somewhere else! I’m sure there are people that will be happy to see you, despite you not being here for ten years, but stay the hell out of my life! You gave up your spot in it ten years ago!” After that she looks as if he is going to charge at him an slap him again, but instead she shoots into the sky and heads towards the mountains in the distance. 

As I see her fade out into the sky I instantly turn to Gohan and immediately tell him to go follow her. He looks at me shocked for a moment before nodding seriously and shooting off after his daughter. I then turn to Piccolo and Krillin, both of whom still seem to be shocked from Pan’s outburst, although Piccolo looks more angry than shocked. “Piccolo! Krillin! You guys should go and tell the others not to come near here. I’ve got some things to settle with my father before everyone else comes to see him. Don’t worry though, I know what I’m doing and I’m perfectly capable of handling myself.”

My father-in-law appears as if he’s about to protest, but Piccolo stops it by turning to him and saying: “You heard the man! Go and get the others. Tell them to meet at the Lookout!” Krillin only nods, casting a weary glance at me and then his best friend before shooting off into the distance towards West City. Once that is taken care of, Piccolo turns back to me. “You sure you can handle this by yourself Goten?”

I allow myself a smirk as I look at the Namekian. “Don’t worry about me. You know how good I’ve become. Just make sure you keep Marron and my mom away until I’m done.”

Piccolo returns my smirk before nodding in return and flying off. Once he fades into the distance I turn back to my father and for the very first time, I feel a wave of sympathy for the man. He looks as if he can’t believe what just happened. His granddaughter just told him that she hates him and flew off. The sympathy only lasts for a moment though before my scowl returns. It’s his fault she hates him. He shouldn’t have left in the first place!

I cross my arms across my chest. “Now do you realize how much you screwed up?” I ask him calmly, trying to get his attention back. 

He suddenly shutters, now facing me as if awakened from a daze. As if he suddenly realizes that the situation he’s in is real, he gives me an incredibly guilty look and pleads to me: “Goten! Please! Give me another chance! I don’t want Pan to hate me! I don’t want you to hate me either! I promise you that I will never leave again! Just give me another chance!”

That plea however only serves to make me angrier. He wants another chance to let his family down? He wants another chance to hurt Pan, Gohan, and Mom? “I’m sorry Goku, but you’ve had enough chances.” I respond coldly. My golden aura explodes around me as I start to power up again. “I’ve seen what you’ve done with all of your other ‘chances’ and you only seem to create more hurt each chance you get!” The winds start to pick up again and the heat of my aura starts to create clouds in the sky around me. “You think I will just give you another chance to hurt the ones I love, just because you feel remorse now?!” Blue lighting starts to form in my aura as my ki starts to push to the level above super saiyan. “Well I’ve had enough!”

Using my pure fury at my father as fuel, a bolt of lightning strikes me, creating a loud bang and an even brighter flash of light as my ki skyrockets to the super saiyan 2 level. I scream at the top of my lungs as my ki just continues to grow and grow as rain starts to fall around me from my self generated storm. I’m glad that I went far enough away from everyone’s houses where the power from my transformation won’t completely destroy them, but even so, I still think there will be some storm damage to clean up when I get back. I couldn’t care less at the moment though.

I continue to scream as my ki reaches the pinnacle of super saiyan 2 strength and then really concentrate hard for the next part. I force myself to calm down, thinking of nothing but happy moments growing up with Gohan and Mom, playing with Trunks as we grew up together, then later in life when Gohan married Videl and had Pan, and finally, when I asked Marron out and asked her to marry me. After calming myself, I finally have enough control of my ki to channel every bit of my strength into the final transformation. I feel hair start to hit my back and descend lower until it reaches my tailbone as my ki skyrockets even further. 

I’ve just reached the level only my father and the fused form of Trunks and me had previously.

I’ve reached super saiyan 3.

I’m glad that Goku decided to teach Trunks and I the secrets behind the transformation during the whole Buu fiasco. This was one thing that Gohan couldn’t help me with since he has his mystic form, which is stronger than super saiyan 3, so he never needed to learn how to transform. I open my eyes and glare at my gaping father. “I’m done with you Goku! You are no longer welcome in Mount Paoz and are hereby evicted from the premises at once!” With that said I charge my father with every intention of keeping him away from my family for good. 

He will not hurt them anymore!


	5. Animosity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle between Goten and Goku has begun. Has Goten gotten strong enough to finally beat his father, or is Goku just too strong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> This is the final chapter of Poof! Thank you to everyone who gave it a shot. I realize that this is a strongly opinionated story, and as such, there are others out there that will disagree with my opinion. That is completely fine! I would like to hear what you think, even if you completely disagree. My only request is that you be respectful to me and to others if you comment. You might not like what I write or say, but at least respect my right to say it. 
> 
> Thank you again! Enjoy the final installment!

~Mount Paoz, 439 East Mountain District, Age 795~

I quickly go to work attacking my father, my anger at him fueling me and pushing me to my limit. I immediately strike with a right jab to his hip, which connects with ease as my father still hasn’t transformed to the third level yet. He yells out in pain as the blow sends him shooting through the air towards my left. Not wanting to stop my assault, I use my superior speed to dash right above where he’s going and jackhammer him straight into the ground. I watch as my father makes a crater in the earth, a cloud of dust kicking up and an explosion sounding from the sudden impact. 

I immediately start charging up a ki blast in my right hand, not wanting to give him time to even the playing grounds. I realize that while I may have improved significantly over the last ten years, that my father has been doing nothing but training over that time. I can’t give him an inch. The whole point of this fight is to make sure that he doesn’t come back to live with us, a point that I hope I’m making clear with my actions right now. I am also finding that I personally want nothing to do with him anymore. I need to beat him in a fight in order to prove to him that we don’t need him to come back; that we are more than capable of protecting ourselves. 

And if that really was his point in going off to train Uub, he will understand that he didn’t actually need to do that at all. He needs to understand that that decision was a mistake, and that he can’t just throw his family to the wayside. 

Even though that’s what I want him to do now. 

With a grunt, I let go of my ki blast, having finally gathered enough power, throwing it at my father. It hits the crater dead center, and explodes with great force, lighting up the area of the crater and spitting more dust and rubble into the air. I know that it wasn’t enough to hurt my father, but I was really just trying to make a point that this fight won’t be as easy as our past battles. Keeping my senses open, I am able to sense my father rising into the air to meet me. 

Sure enough, as soon as the wind blows away the dust from the explosion, I see my father, clothes ruffled and a few scratches on his body from his fall, but otherwise unharmed. I also groan internally when I realize that he too has powered up to the third level. Apparently he has enough control of it now that it doesn’t appear to taking much of a toll on his body at all. Meanwhile, this is only the third time I’ve been able to fully control this form, and it is really draining me already. 

There’s no doubt about it. My father is still stronger than me. 

However, unlike him, I have a vast drive to continue this fight. He probably doesn’t want to do this right now, and is most likely caught completely off-guard by my actions. There is definitely more to a fight than just raw strength. My mom taught me that when she trained me when I was younger. Even though I was stronger than her every time we sparred, I still to this day have never beat her, although if I were to be honest with myself, I haven’t fought her since I was six years old. 

My attention is brought back to my father as he flies in front of me, now in his transformed glory. However, I can still see his hesitancy. He really doesn’t want to fight me right now. 

Heh, like I’m going to give him that option. 

I immediately charge him again, trying to go on the offensive once more. However, this time I am met with a strong resistance from Goku. He blocks my right punch to his chest while moving out of the way of my follow up kick, then continues to parry all of my blows with the utmost expertise, despite the precision that I am aiming them with. Of course I only would expect this from the man that has trained almost non-stop for the past ten years. 

This goes on for a while, me trying my hardest to hit my father, yet being unsuccessful due to his impenetrable defense. I must say that this seems to bring back some cases of déjà vu from the training sessions I had with Gohan. I almost could never hit him either. However, unlike Gohan in those sessions, Goku isn’t fighting back at all, just waiting out my assault. I smirk at that thought. He thinks that he’s going to just keep on defending until I tire out, then try and stop me while I’m down. 

Nice try Goku, nice try. 

I back off after my latest assault, admittedly a little winded. I’ll admit, his strategy is a good one, what, with this only being the third time in this form while he’s pretty much mastered it. However, if he thinks that my stamina is running out anytime soon, he’s definitely mistaken. While I am getting drained from maintaining this form, I’m still fueled by the animosity that I feel towards my opponent. 

*wince* 

Okay, I take that back. This form is _definitely_ taking its toll on me. And remembering my training, I know that I won’t be able to keep it up very much longer if I keep thinking about this battle like that. No, hatred is not the way I should be fueling my power, but rather I should be fueling it with more positive emotions, like love. Yes, it is the love that I hold for my family that is the reason why I’m doing this. By fighting Goku and beating him, I will be able to convince him to stay away from here, and in turn, protecting the emotional stability of my loved ones. 

Ah, yes. I can already feel the ki in my body reacting to my now more positive thought process. My mind has also become clearer and more focused. I look back to my father, and am surprised to see him just staring at me, and for the first time, I don’t see the excitement of battle in his eyes. I quickly look away before I lose my resolve. I’m not going to fall for his innocent crap anymore! Yes, he does seem to be genuinely hurt from what has transpired, so he must care for us a little bit at least. However, I can’t help but think that he’s not sorry at all. When he had answered Gohan’s question earlier about not visiting, he had not a care in the world. It was like he didn’t think anything of breaking his promise to his granddaughter. 

And the thing is, that response was genuine. He had absolutely no pressure from anyone to answer the way that he did when he was asked that question. So if that’s how he looks at promises, then how am I to believe that he won’t break any promises that he makes to stay around? After all, they could be just words to placate us, just like his promise to Pan at the tournament. If he cares that little about his promises, then there is absolutely no reason to think that his have any weight to them at all. 

I raise my fists, getting ready to attack once more. I need to keep up my assault if I want to be able to finish this fight before I run out of energy. I charge my father once again, this time trying a different strategy. I circle around him, trying to confuse my father by making him think which direction I’m going to attack from until I stop on a dime and shoot right at him. I smirk as this strategy actually worked, getting a punch into the side of my father’s chest. Goku grunts from the blow, turning to defend himself, but he is too slow while I start up again, getting a few more hits in the following exchange. Finally fed up with my success, Goku actually punches me, taking me off guard and making me stop. 

I turn to face my father, getting ready to defend myself now, but he stopped after that one shot. He’s not making any moves to continue, but instead, looking at me with a strange expression. It’s kind of like a mix between longing and restraint. Ah, he must be battling his instinct to fight a strong opponent and test his limits. I can tell that he is trying to hold himself back from fighting me, but deep down he really wants to since now he finally sees how strong I really am. 

“Goten! Stop!” he shouts, much to my surprise. “I don’t want to fight you Goten!”

I scoff at that. “I highly doubt that, Goku. I can tell that really want to test yourself against me, see how strong you’ve really gotten over the years.”

He sighs, shaking his head, and I can see the gears in his head turning to try and come up with some lame excuse. “You’ve got it all wrong Goten,” he relies, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. “You’re right, I do want to spar with you, but not under these circumstances.”

I growl at that. How dare he say something like that! What did he expect when he had left so suddenly and then never came back until now? “Well, it’s too bad Goku!” I shout back, raising my ki a little while lighting starts to strike out from my form. “It’s your choice that made it so we are fighting under these circumstances to begin with! Now prepare yourself!” 

I immediately charge him again before he gets another word in. This time I take on the offensive and I give it my all at landing my blows. Surprisingly, Goku is now fighting back, although not very successfully. After realizing that he is now taking this fight at face value, I start mixing in my defensive techniques with my offensive ones. I dodge one of his roundhouse kicks by spinning to the left, planning on using my momentum from my spin to counter with a strong kick of my own right in his back. It connects, sending him flying from the power and I internally thank Gohan for that one. He said that spinning is one of the best ways to dodge an opponent since it gives you some great momentum for an extra powerful follow-up kick. The only weakness is the fact that the spin can disorient you, and if you miss, you are left more vulnerable. It was because of this though that both of us had practiced this particular dodging technique for hours at end, and now I know exactly how much I spin and how to stop myself on a dime if I do indeed miss. 

Flying after my target, I try my best to get another few hits in before he can recover from that blow. However, it was not meant to be as he spins around and counters my fist with his own, the clash between us sending sparks through the air, followed by a sonic boom. The wind blows through the air for a few seconds as we hold that position, both trying to overpower the other. Eventually, Goku gives away, lowing his fist and ducking before mine can smash his face in, and in turn, giving me a jab to my gut. I feel the air leave my lungs at that blow before he sends another at the side of my sternum. Although I see the blow coming, my body is too slow to catch up to my brain, and his punch connects, sending me downwards towards the ground. Grunting, I desperately try to flip myself in the air so I can land on my feet, and I am able to do that just in time as I reach the ground, though I’m not able to halt my momentum and I still end up in a crater in the ground.

I make my way out of the crater, huffing and puffing. Alright, I admit that hurt, and this transformation is really starting to drain my ki. However, Goku is still here, and I will not give up until I prove to him that what he did was wrong. He should have never left his family to go off and train a complete stranger. Heck! I would have just accepted it if he had at least visited us! That would have proven that even though he was doing what he really wanted in training his whole life, that he still thought about us and that maybe he meant it when he told us that he loves us. 

I growl once again, looking up at the man that I am thinking of. He is starting to get more and more comfortable with this fight. I am starting to see that excitement for battle back in his eyes, and I can tell that he is starting to get lost in the battle itself, forgetting the reason why we are fighting in the first place. That only causes my anger to spike even more. This is exactly why he can’t come back. It’s like every time he gets into an exciting fight he completely forgets what’s going on around him. Everything else goes to the back of his mind. While that is a good trait to have in a warrior, it can be extremely bad when that warrior has a family and wants to do nothing but fight. 

I can suddenly see how he could have forgotten about us for ten years. 

I make my way back to him once more, the battle continuing where it left off. We battle it out for a few more exchanges, but the strain is really starting to get to me now. While at the start of these I was making the majority of the blows, now the situation is reversed. He is starting to penetrate my defenses more and more the longer these exchanges get, showing his superior stamina in the super saiyan 3 form. We break off from our latest exchange of blows, and the damage is now becoming apparent. I am breathing quite heavily, with bruises forming all over my body. While I don’t think I have any broken bones, I’m sure my forearms and shins are cracked from the constant abuse from defending. I also can taste the blood around my mouth, most likely from the few good hits he got in on my face. Meanwhile, Goku is barely breathing hard at all, although he does sport numerous bruises all along his body. 

No, I’m not going to give up… but it starting to get difficult to keep up. 

I try and control my breathing, getting in my stance for the next exchange of hits. However, before I even sense it coming, I feel an extremely strong blow come from my left side, catching me completely off guard, not only by the fact that I was hit unexpectedly, but by the strength of the blow. I can’t keep in the scream of pain, as it felt as though I broke a few ribs with that blow, while I plummet towards the Earth. This time I can’t even flip myself over before I hit the ground, creating another painful crater. I barely have enough time to regain my bearings when I feel a strong ki blast coming towards me. I have no clue who it is that is doing this all right now, as I don’t recognize this ki at all, but I know that I can’t take this ki blast right now without at least putting up some semblance of a defense. I quickly flip myself over and cross my arms in front of me, trying to put all of my ki into cushioning the blast. 

The blast hits me full force, although thanks to my improv defense, I was able to absorb the vast majority of the damage. However, that took so much of my ki that I dropped out of my super saiyan form completely, and now am resting in the crater completely exhausted. The only thing I can do right now is suppress my ki and stretch my senses towards that mysterious ki, trying to find out who it is and what the heck is going on. As I focus on the ki, I can definitely tell it’s extremely powerful, stronger than a super saiyan 2, although not quite as strong as a super saiyan 3. I guess it makes sense that such a powerful force could put me in this position. As I read the ki further to determine if it is another threat, I find that I can’t feel darkness from it, meaning that whoever this person or creature is would be a good person at heart. I sigh in relief at that, glad that we don’t have to fight for the planet at this moment. As I start to regain my sense a little but more, I can hear my father having a conversation with this person. I try my best to focus in on what they are saying so I can figure out what is going on.

“Uub, what are you doing?”

“Master Goku! I’m sorry! I felt you transform into a super saiyan against another really powerful ki that I didn’t recognize so I thought I’d come and help you out!”

So that other person is the kid that Goku was training this whole time. That would explain why he is so powerful.

“Uub, that was my youngest son you attacked! We were sparring, so it wasn’t a threat to the world at all. I am glad that you responded like it was one; that means that you will make a great defender of the Earth, but there’s nothing to worry about here.”

I frown. He thinks that this was only a spar!? Well, I know that I wasn’t going to fight to the death, but this was more than a simple spar like he makes it out to be. This was supposed to be his eviction from Mount Paoz! Frustrated that it seems that absolutely nothing can penetrate that think skull of his, I pull myself up from the crater and fly out, floating up in front of the teacher student duo. I glare at my father, trying to ignore the incredulous stare of the other kid, Uub.

“I seriously can’t believe you right now Goku!” I shout. I don’t know how many times I have to say it in order for it to get through that incredibly dense head of his. “How can you still think that this is just a stupid spar! I’m trying to fight you and beat you so that you stay away from my family!” I try once again to power up, transforming into a super saiyan. As I try to gather ki to make the next jump, my father starts talking to me again. However, I don’t really hear him other than the fact that he says that I’m not in any condition to fight right now, and that just fuels me further. I yell, transforming into a super saiyan 2 before my ki gives out on me completely, causing me to lose both transformations and collapse, and I start falling from the sky once more towards the ground. 

Damn. That transformation took much more out of me than I thought…

However, I don’t fall far before someone catches me, and gently floats towards the ground before sitting me down against one of the trees of the forest. I know who it is immediately, recognizing the ki right away. While shocked that he’s here, I must say that I’m relieved.

“How about I take over for him then.”

“Gohan!” I hear Goku shout. He sounds surprised, although I’m not sure whether it’s from my big brother’s appearance or what he had just said. “What are you doing here? What are you talking about?” It was both I guess.

I try and make my way to my feet, but only get on one leg before it gives out on me, not being able to support my weight. Gohan is quick to catch me though and sit me back against the tree. “Stay down Goten. I hate to say it, but Goku is right: you are in no condition to fight right now.” I look up to him and see his serious face, and I know that I’ve lost this battle. There’s no way that he’s going to let me go back out there and fight. 

His expression turns softer in appearance, and he gives me a slight smile. “You did amazing Goten! I was watching from about 20 minutes ago, and I was extremely impressed with how well you were able to hold the transformation. In fact, I think you would definitely have made the fight at least a stalemate had Uub not cheap shotted you.”  

I smile at Gohan’s encouraging words. He is someone that is very critical of my fighting, but he tells it like it is. But even though he tears my fighting apart quite often, he also equally as often gives me praise for my improvements and things I do well. However, I’m actually shocked that he’s here. I thought I told him to go take care of Pan, and he said he was here for over 20 minutes! With this in mind, I can’t help but ask the question. “What are you doing here? I thought you were off taking care of your daughter.”

His smile becomes warmer at the question for some reason. “Well I was taking care of Pan, but she was extremely distraught. We discussed a few things, including her feelings over the last 10 years. After that, she felt a lot better, and now she’s up on the Lookout with everyone else.” I nod at this, although I doubt Pan is back to 100%. I definitely will have a talk to her later as well. “I then felt that your ki was at the super saiyan 3 level and decided to watch your fight,” he continues, bringing me back to what’s happening at the moment. “I knew you had it in you to fight Dad, which is why I didn’t interfere. The only reason I ended up coming out of hiding was because Uub suddenly showed up and blindsided you. Unfortunately, the transformation took so much out of you that the shot form Uub was enough to knock you out of it.”

Gohan then puts his hands on my shoulders, giving them a little squeeze. “Don’t worry though, I will take over from here. You did all of the hard work, so all I need to do is finish the job.” My eyes widen at this. I know that Gohan is strong enough to take down our father, but I’m worried about the emotional attachment. I’m not sure that he will be able to completely oust Goku from his life. Apparently he senses my doubt because he gives me another reassuring squeeze. “I know what you’re thinking Goten, but after talking with Pan, I’ve realized a few things about our father. Now I have no doubt that I can do what’s necessary.” 

With that he lets go of me and gets back to his feet, shooting into the air. I can honestly say I’m shocked. What did Pan say to change his mind? Or perhaps it wasn’t anything that she said, but just the fact that Goku was the reason that she was in that condition to begin with. I am shocked out of my thoughts by my brother powering up to his mystic form. His hair and eyes don’t change color at all like the super saiyan transformation, but his body instantly bulks up, but not too much to hinder his movement and blue aura starts sparking with electricity up the hizzy. More importantly though, his ki goes through the roof unmatched by even a super saiyan 3. To this day, I still haven’t seen anything that was more impressive than my big brother in his mystic form. 

“Gohan, what’s going on?” I hear Goku ask though all of the commotion. He also wisely powers up his transformation again, raising his ki back to battle strength. “Everything is happening so fast! First I get home and am talking to you and Goten. Then Pan suddenly comes home and slaps me, telling me that she hates me and flying off. The next thing I know I’m fighting Goten in an all out spar, him telling me he’s trying to ‘evict me…’ whatever that means.” I roll my eyes at that last comment. “I guess I just don’t know what I did to cause this. I know I left to train Uub, but I told you guys I’d be back when I was done! So why is it when I come back everyone is mad at me?”

I can see Big Brother narrow his eyes at our father. “If you seriously don’t understand what the big deal is, then Goten was right. You don’t deserve to come home. After all, you obviously haven’t realized your mistakes, and as many times as we tell you and welcome you back, you never will. I’m done trying! The last time you left is going to be the last time I allow you to hurt me and my family!” As soon as Gohan finishes, he disappears from my vision, only to reappear by punching Goku right in the jaw. Ouch! I knew Gohan was fast, but I didn’t even see him move! Those training sessions were really helpful for him too I guess. As Gohan continues to push his assault, Goku has no choice but to defend and fight back.

The fight is one sided. Not only is Big Brother stronger than our father, but Goku is also somewhat drained from fighting me earlier. Still, I must say that I’m impressed that he’s even holding his own at all, considering the circumstances. My attention turns away from the battle and to the other person here, after feeling his ki spike. I look at Uub and study him, taking in his features for the first time. He doesn’t really look like a fighter to me. He has what appear to be kind, brown eyes with a black mohawk that isn’t spiked, He wears white gi pants, but that’s the only article of clothing he has on. His skin is a darker brown, indicative that he lives in a tropical climate, or at least a climate that gets a lot of sun. I will say though that he definitely is built like a fighter, with his body chiseled with a perfect tone of muscles that fit his figure nicely. He’s looking up at the conflict between my brother and father rather apprehensively. It’s like he wants to help out his teacher, yet still wants them to settle whatever is going on. 

I suddenly realize that Uub is in a rather rough position at the moment. After all, it was him that Goku left us to train. I would guess that he has a feeling of what is going on here, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if he felt guilty for this. I frown at that thought. I know that I don’t really know Uub, but I can tell that he is a good person, and I know I don’t hold anything against him. He doesn’t deserve to be feeling guilty about this situation. 

Thankfully, I recovered enough energy to be able to support myself and walk over to him. I look back up at the fight, really impressed by what I’m seeing. It was always my impression that my brother and Goku were the two best overall fighters in the whole group, and so far they are living up to that expectation. Gohan is being relentless, yet I find myself even more impressed with Goku. He’s able to hold his own, despite the fight I had earlier with him. I however can tell it will only be a matter of time until Gohan finishes him off, and then we will be rid of Goku for good… at least be rid of living with him.  

“They sure are awesome fighters aren’t they?”

I look over at Uub, surprised that he started the conversation. I guess he figured that I came over here for a reason, but I still didn’t expect him to instigate the conversation. I turn to him, giving him a smirk. “You’ve got that right. Goku has always been incredible at martial arts, but Gohan has always had this incredible potential that developed into what he is today.”

I see Uub turn and face me now. “You know, you were pretty impressive too,” he adds. “It took all of my strength and a surprise attack to knock you to the ground. I guess I shouldn’t expect any less from the sons of my master.” He then extends his hand to me with a smile. “I’m Uub. You must be Goten, right?”

Giving him a smile of my own, I take his hand and give him a friendly handshake. “That’s right. It’s nice to finally meet you Uub. I can tell that you are incredibly strong, way stronger than I was at your age, that’s for sure.”

He blushes, rubbing the back of his head in a manner that is just like my family. I guess if you spend enough time around a Son you develop that habit too. “Thanks,” he replies. “Of course I wouldn’t be this strong if not for Master Goku.”

“Yeah, how was training with my father?” I ask him genuinely curious. I also secretly would like to find out if he treated him the same way that he treated Gohan and me. 

He gives me a wide smile at the mention of his training. “It was fantastic!” he answers, clearly enthusiastic. “Although his spars were extremely demanding, they helped me get stronger really quickly! And I could learn so much from him by just watching him train. He has to be the most natural fighter I’ve ever seen! It was incredible to have someone like him to learn from…” his expression drops at that for some reason, and he turns away, now looking up at the battle above. “Although, that also is the main reason why this is all happening right now isn’r it? Because he left you guys to live with me…”

Ah, I was right in the fact that he felt guilty. Quickly trying to rid him of that guilt, I put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s not your fault Uub,” I tell him, trying my best to sound as convincing as possible. “It’s him that’s the issue. You were just the person who was unfortunate enough, or fortunate enough depending on which way you look at it, to be caught in the middle of this all.”

He turns back to me, looking a bit apprehensive. “…Do you two… hate your father for what he did?”

My eyes widen, surprised by that question. How did he figure it out before my father did? “What makes you say that Uub?” 

He looks down, folding his hands in front of him. “Well I know that he left with me over ten years ago, and he never left me until today…” he starts. “And judging from what both you and your brother were saying earlier… you two don’t want him to come home because he was gone for so long… So you guys are obviously mad at him…”

I look down as well, seriously contemplating his question. Do I hate my father? I really don’t know. Looking back up at the battle, I can see Gohan starting to take a clear advantage now, giving Goku some significant hits while parrying his opponent's with ease. “No,” I answer Uub, who looks back at me. “I don’t hate Goku. My father is very kind, pure-hearted, and very fun to be around. I know that he is a good person, but he can just be so careless sometimes. I think I more or less hate what he stands for in my mind.” 

I turn my attention back to Uub. “You see, when he left with you to train you, that wasn’t the first time he’s made a decision like that. I don't know what he has told you about his past battles, but that definitely wasn’t the first time he chose training over his family.” I pause and give Uub a very serious stare. “My brother can attest to this much better than I can, since a lot of this happened before I was even born, but this is now the fourth time that he had left us for a year or more in pursuit of training.” 

Goku’s pupil’s eyes widen upon hearing that. “He really did this three other times?”

I nod. “Yep. According to my brother, the first time wasn’t his fault. Did my father tell you about the dragon balls?” At seeing him nod, I continue. “Well, the first time he had died, but we were going to wish him back to life with the dragon balls. But before we could, everyone got word from Kami, the Guardian of the Earth at that time, that Goku needed to stay in Other World to train for the invasion of the saiyans that was happening in one year’s time. In that instance, everyone was completely fine with him staying to train, as we knew that we needed it for an impending threat, and we also know what he was doing, and when he was coming back.”

“Yeah, I remember Master Goku telling me about that,” Uub recalls. “If I remember correctly, it was during that training period where he learned the kaioken technique”

I nod again. “That’s right. That technique was the whole reason the Earth survived the saiyan invasion. So how much of our adventures do you actually know about Uub?”

He puts his hand to his chin. “I think he told me about all of them, including fighting an evil, pink, bubble-gum monster of some sort… I still am kind of skeptical about that one since he sounds too ridiculous to be true.”

I can’t help but laugh at that. Especially since Uub apparently is the good reincarnation of that same monster. How ironic. “Believe it from me Uub, Buu definitely did exist. That was the one battle that I was actually alive for. But this will make this a lot easier for me to explain since you know which events I’m talking about then.” I look back at the fight happening in the sky and that’s all I need to become serious again. Looking back at Uub, I continue to tell the tale of Goku’s absence over the years. “Since you know the events already, I’ll skip ahead to the trip to Namek and the battle with Frieza.

“As you probably know, Goku decided to stay behind on an unstable Planet Namek and finish off Frieza when everyone else got wished back to Earth using the Namekian dragon balls. Father defeated Frieza, but the planet ended up exploding. Luckily, Goku got off of the planet in time, but the others on Earth didn’t know that and thought he had died in the explosion. However, they were going to use the Namekian dragon balls to bring hi back to life, but found out he was alive. That was great news! That meant that all they had to do is wish him back to Earth, but there was a problem… Goku refused to be wished to Earth, claiming he would come back on his own.”

“Wasn’t that when he learned his instant transmission technique?” Uub suddenly interjects. “I remember him telling me that he learned that on a planet named Yardrat right after his battle with Frieza.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I answer, impressed with how well Uub actually knows the events, a least the events in which Goku learned an important technique. “But the thing that made this time different was that, at least according to Gohan, Goku hadn’t given them any sort of timeframe as to when to expect him back, and furthermore never gave them an explanation on why he didn’t want to come home right away, so even though that’s what ended up happening, nobody knew what was happening and when he would be home. I don’t know about anyone else, but I know that Gohan was afraid that his dad was fighting off another threat on another planet, and since Goku didn’t come back for another two years after that, my big brother had assumed the worst.” 

I pause for a moment to let Uub dwell on that before continuing. “The next time he did it was the worst of them all though. My brother had just killed the evil android Cell, but Goku had died in that battle. Once again, everyone was ready to go to Namek and gather the dragon balls to wish him back to life, as Namek’s dragon balls will allow you to wish someone back as many times as you want as long as it’s not from natural causes, but before they could, Goku once again refused to be wished back. Keep in mind that this was right around the time before I was about to be born, so he left my big brother and my mother to raise me on their own. Not only that, but the way in which my father died in that battle made my brother feel extremely guilty for what happened. In fact, it got so bad that Gohan actually thought that Goku stayed in Other World to punish him for not finishing off Cell sooner!” 

I pause, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to keep myself under control. I always get overly emotional when I need to recall what my brother went through during those seven years after the Cell Games. That is something that I still hold a grudge against Goku for, and one of the main reasons I don’t want Goku coming back. I open my eyes and look at Uub, who looks as if he can’t believe what he is hearing. I actually feel a little bad for telling him this since Goku was most likely his hero during the ten years that he knew him. I’m basically destroying that image of him. However, I think it’s important that Uub know our side of Goku’s stories. Besides, it’s too late to go back now. I take another moment to regain my composure before continuing. “What makes it even worse was his excuse for staying dead. This time, his excuse was that he was doing it to protect the Earth from future threats by not being a target, but I think that excuse was complete crap! Still to this day I have no clue how him staying dead prevented the Earth from any more threats.”

“…That’s because he didn’t stay to prevent threats… right?” I hear Uub ask, and I look at him, stunned. That is exactly what I was about to explain next, but I’m extremely surprised that he said that, especially about the master that he respects greatly. “I think I’m starting to see a pattern here. He stayed in space to train… he left with me to train… and I remember him telling me stories about his training adventures in Other World. He stayed there to train didn't he. I… I knew that he liked to train, and that he’s been on so many adventures… but I never heard your side of the stories before. To me, they seemed to just be great adventures, but now that I see them from your point of view… I don’t know what to think of them anymore… thinking back on them, he just seemed so… careless, like you said before.”

“Exactly,” I confirm, genuinely surprised that he came to the same conclusion I did after hearing Gohan’s side of the story. He must really know Goku’s adventures pretty well. I sigh, looking back at Uub. “So you see now why Gohan and I don’t want him to come back. It’s not that we don’t love him, but it’s because we love him that we don’t want the opportunity to get hurt by him promising to come back only to leave again. It seems like he doesn’t think about it when it comes to training adventures, so at this point, it would be better if he never came back to begin with.”    

Uub nods to me, a seemingly sad smile on his face. “I think I understand. There’s still so much I don’t know about the situation, but it’s not really my place to pry anyways. This obviously is something between you guys.” I return Uub’s smile, glad that he understands where I’m coming from now. “If he wants, Goku can continue to live in my village with my family, and then I can give you the coordinates in case you want to visit him at some point.” 

I think over Uub’s suggestion. It actually isn’t that bad of an idea. I know that at the very least, all of this friends, ranging from Bulma to Krillin would like to be able to visit my father, but that way, those who don’t want to be a risk of getting hurt by his antics, like my brother and I, don’t have to see him. Making my decision, I smile at Uub. “I think that’s a great idea! That way, the people that want to see him can, but those that don’t don’t have to. And I don’t have any issues with him visiting us either, but I don’t want him staying around for too long and getting my mother’s or niece’s hopes up again.”

*Boom!*

I am interrupted from my deal with Uub by something crashing into the ground, or rather someone. I don’t need to go over there and look in the crater to know that it’s my father that is inside. The last time I was watching the fight, he was really starting to struggle against Gohan. I’m actually shocked that he lasted that long. Speaking of Gohan, he suddenly lands right next to the crater, huffing and puffing from the effort that he put into the fight, but still not too worse for wear. He has a few bruises, mainly on his forearms from blocking so much,  and he does have a bleeding nose and lip. he also probably has a few injuries that are hidden underneath his gi, but all in all, he looks to be in pretty decent shape… aside from the huffing. I feel him drop his mystic form, and feeling inside of the crater, I can feel that my father fell out of super saiyan as well.  

Eventually, my father makes his way out of the crater that he was put in, and I’m shocked to see how battered he is. He has bruises littered all over his body, and his bleeding pretty heavily from a laceration on his right arm. I wouldn’t doubt that he has a few broken bones and internal injuries as well, but he’s doesn’t seem to be in too much pain. In fact, he has a small smile on his face, although it is a sad smile. “Wow, Gohan” he finally says. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you fight that I forgot how strong you were in that form of yours.” He then turns to me. “And you, Goten, were impressive as well. Reaching super saiyan 3 and controlling it for as long as you did. Between the two of you, I definitely lost. That’s for certain…”

“So since you lost, you should honor our wishes.” Gohan declares, finally having caught his breath from his fight. “You are to leave Mount Paoz and stay away from my family. That includes my wife, both of my children and Mom. I’ve had it enough of your empty promises.”

Goku looks at me, as if looking for me to protest my brother’s words. I just give him a nod in confirmation of Gohan’s thoughts, walking over to stand next to my big brother. “I’m done with it too Goku. Gohan’s right. Even though I was never that close to you, I still don’t want the risk of you hurting everyone else. However,” I add, causing both my brother and father to look at me, both wondering what condition I’m going to add to the deal. “I have actually been discussing this with Uub while you guys were fighting, and we think we have a plan that would for for all of us.”

I turn to face my father directly. “Goku, Uub has agreed to let you come back with him to his village to live there with him and his family. You probably are already pretty comfortable there anyways. He also agreed to give me the coordinates to the village so that whoever wants to visit you can. However, you are NOT to come back to Mount Paoz. We will visit you if we want to, but I don’t want you coming here on your own. Is this fair?”

I can see my father looking back and forth between my brother and me, probably trying to find any other way to get out of that last condition, but he eventually drops his head and nods meekly. “Yes… I understand.” He sighs, looking completely defeated now. “You guys really don’t want me to come back do you…” 

“I’m not going to sugar coat it Goku, no we do not,” I tell him as straight up as I can. “However, we’ll make sure that we visit you at Uub’s village. I don’t think I want you out of my life completely, after all, you are my father, even if you aren’t really my dad…” 

I look at Gohan for a moment, and he nods at me, and then at Goku. “Yeah, we promise to visit you Goku.”

I can’t help but find Gohan’s wording ironic. He is saying the same thing to Goku that Goku had said to Pan. I wonder if he will also wait ten years to make good on that promise as well. Nonetheless, those last few statements from Gohan and I seem to raise our father’s mood a little bit. He gives us a little smile before he nods once again. “Alright, I suppose I can work with that then.” He walks over to Uub and puts his hand on his student’s shoulder, visibly wincing from the motion. “Alright Uub, I guess it’s time for us to go.” Before he leaves, he turns to Gohan and me and gives us one more sad smile. “I guess this is goodbye to you guys. I hope to see you guys soon. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that it had to come down to this.”

Both Gohan and I nod to Goku. “We are as well,” I hear Gohan say, and I nod once more in agreement. While it is sad to see my father leave on this note, this was what it came down to in the end. I just don’t trust him enough to be a constant in my life, and Gohan agrees with me. 

Goku gives us a wave with his free hand that is not holding onto Uub, and Gohan and I both give him a wave in return. He then puts his index and middle fingers to his forehead, disappearing in the blink of an eye. 

He’s gone.

Poof!


End file.
